AU
by Achalys
Summary: That statement seemed to set new rules...He had admitted that he cared, and that he was going to keep on caring. And it put a big chip in their barrier. Zutara, Taang, Sukka, Yukka, one-sided kataang...DISCONTINUED
1. Chapter 1: Skateboards and Daydreams

**Chapter 1**

**Summary:** AU Sometimes normal life is a WHOLE lot more complicated. Taang, Zutara, Yukka, Sukka.

**A quick note**: Ok, no matter how much Aang talks about Katara in the beginning, I DO NOT ship Kataang (Dislike the couple) and he will get over her. Thank you.

* * *

"_Save me, baby! Come on and free me from your soul, my soul is frozen in you if you'd only thaw me out!"_

The 80's Air nation music by the now ancient band 'Nomads' blasted through Aang's radio. Aang lazily lifted his head, completely delusional. He tried to turn off his alarm, but he hit the wall. Then he hit his lamp. Then he hit the alarm clock off of the bedside table. Groaning, he pulled himself up into a sitting position. Reaching down, he pulled the small clock/radio back up and hit the snooze button.

"6:45….I've got some time." He said to himself, laying back down and getting comfy. He closed his eyes, and was about to drift back into the wonderful world of sleep, where Katara was his girlfriend, Sokka was a ballerina, and all was right with the world, then Gyatso called for him.

"Ugh….Coming!!" Aang called lazily, dragging himself out of bed.

He felt around in the semi-dark, the only light coming from what could sneak in between the shades, and pulled on a shirt, pants, his hat, socks, and shoes, and headed towards the door.

He slid open the door quickly. He stood still for a second, and let his eyes adjust to the light. Gyatso was working on their plane, 'Appa', again. The old man cared for that thing as if Appa was his own daughter. Aang noticed that Gyatso had left the hangar door wide open again, of course. He always did that.

Aang and Gyatso lived in basically a hangar/ office building. Gyatso used to run it, then, when the company shut down, he bought it. The hangar served as what it was called, as well as the main room and the kitchen. Beside that, the building had five other rooms; four were old offices, and one was a store room. The offices were turned into bedrooms and closets for Gyatso's many junk items, while the storage room served as a maintenance room for Appa. They also stored some of their cargo in there when they were stuck with it for a while.

Aang walked over to the Hangar door controls, which were right next to the door itself, and hit the "Down" button. Then he hurried over to the kitchen area to make himself some breakfast before Gyatso made it. In case you couldn't guess, Gyatso couldn't cook squat.

As he ate his cereal, Gyatso came over and sat next to him at the counter. Their kitchen was set up as more of a bar, a design from Gyatso's younger days, when he was a young man who loved women more than flying. Now it was the other way around.

"Hey, Kiddo, why are you still here?" Gyatso asked wearily, pouring himself some cold coffee.

"What? Why?" Aang asked, his mouth full of cereal. He looked at the clock. "It's only 7:25."

Gyatso jumped up. "Exactly! You forgot!" He ran around to the other side of the bar. "You don't remember that today is your big test, and you promised to go to school early, so you can actually catch the bus! I will not have you missing first period again!"

Aang swallowed. "Gyatso, I will leave soon, but it's too early now…Besides," He added quickly. "Even if I did miss the bus, I'd have my skateboard."

Gyatso snorted. "Oh yes, the piece-of-wood-on-wheals contraption. Bah! You couldn't catch up to a bus like that!" He waved his hand, as if dismissing the idea.

Aang rolled his eyes and picked up his bowl, heading for the sink. " I won't be late anyways. Don't worry." He said, dropping the bowl and spoon into the sink before grabbing his skateboard and heading out.

* * *

Aang skated along one of the many sidewalks of C.S., thinking about when he'd first see Katara. She had been gone on a trip to the Water nations for a month, to visit her grandmother. From what Sokka had told him, she had gotten back late last night, but was still going to school today. Aang sighed. Katara was his dream girl, his first and only love. Well, close enough, anyways. What would he, a teenager, know of love? But, then again, what would Gyatso, and VERY old man, know, either?

Aang was so lost in his thought, that he ran into a blue old beat up car.

"OOF!!" Aang rolled onto the ground and jumped up, rubbing his head. "What the-?!"

"Hey you! What do you think you're do-Oh, hey Aang!" Sokka called, getting out of the car.

"Sokka…" Aang started, straightening up, but still rubbing his head. "Why is your car on the sidewalk?" He asked, eying the old machine. In a way it kind of reminded him of Gyatso…

"What, my Baby?! Why, she's parked, stupid!" Sokka said, apparently very proud that he had successfully managed to maneuver his car between the lamppost and the bus stop sign. Aang sighed. "Great, Sokka." He said, giving up. Sokka nudged him. "Hey, guess who I'm here to pick up?" He asked, his eyebrows going up and down in a knowing way.

"Aang!"

It was just then that Aang noticed that they were in front of a coffee shop, and that Katara had just exited, holding a cup of coffee in one hand, and a doughnut box in the other. She carefully set the items on the back of Sokka's car and ran over, pulling Aang in a big bear hug.

"Oh my gosh, I missed you so much! I have so much to tell you!" Aang was shocked at first, but then hugged her back quickly. "I missed you, too, Katara." He said, blushing. But Katara didn't notice. She pulled back, holding Aang at arm's length. "Wow, look at you!...You're a mess!" She laughed and straightened up his hat, pulling the blue arrow on his wooly brown hat back to the center.

"My doughnuts!" Sokka cried, grabbing the box that Katara had brought off the trunk of his 'baby'. "Did you get the strawberry kind?" He asked, opening the box in a hurry.

Katara let go of Aang and shrugged. "Sorry, Sokka. They only had glazed and a new flavor with a puke color."

Sokka pursed his lips and slammed the box shut. "I won't eat it, then!"

"Suit yourself." Katara turned back towards Aang. "So…Tell me what I missed. All Sokka told me was that I should have been here to save you yesterday!" Katara looked worried.

Aang blushed. "Well…Someone might have said something and then said that_ I_ said it, offending someone and getting him mad…" Aang rubbed the back of his neck nervously. The LAST thing that he wanted to do was talk about it in front of Katara, who would start acting like his mother. And that was even WORSE, because he wanted her to see him as a grown-up. Or, at least enough of one to date.

"Guys! We're going to be late for school!" Sokka yelled, running over to his car door, and pulling as hard as he could. "Come on, baby!" Sokka muttered to himself, pulling even harder. Finally, the door opened, and Sokka jumped inside. "Katara, Aang! Jump in!" As Aang started to pick up his skateboard, Sokka called. "Hey, Aang? Could you…Pick up my doughnuts for me?" Aang and Katara rolled their eyes.

"Sure, Sokka."

* * *

Right as Sokka parked, the school-bell rang.

"OkthanksguysIgottagogettoclassbeforeI'mlateorelseGyatsoisgoingtokickmybutt!" Aang yelled in one breath, jumping out of the car, grabbing his skateboard, and running to class as fast as his legs could carry him.

He ran into class, bursting through the door in the loudest possible way. "Oh, why hello Aang, How nice of you to decide to join us today." His Teacher, Mr. Peterson said sarcastically, completely un-amused. "Sit down." He commanded, handing Aang his test.

"Thank you, sir. Sorry that I'm late." Aang said, his head down, and sat down in his usual seat. He took a deep breath and opened the test. Everything was in red, as if taunting him, saying _"You don't know this, haha, you can't figure this out. You're going to fail, all because of us! Haha!"_

Aang blinked several times, trying to clear his head. This was going to be a long day…

* * *

Lunch time.

This was the best time of day, if you asked Aang. Well, the school day, anyway. It was the first time of day that he got to see Katara usually, and the only time that he could hang out with friends, most of the time. But there was one thing…One _person_ that made Aang hate lunch at the same time. And his name was Zuko.

Zuko hated him to no end, a thing that baffled Aang to no end. Zuko had never been his friend, but until 3rd grade, he wasn't his enemy, either. That was year that he had gotten his scar. He was out of school for a few months, while letting his wound heal. But when he got back, he started acting mean o everyone, especially to Aang. He had gotten him in a fight a year ago, and afterwards he had shut himself to everyone, becoming more of an emo than a bully.

Aang moved forward a step in the line, holding his tray tightly, as if someone was going to steal it from him.

"Yo, twinkletoes." Someone playfully flicked him in the shoulder.

Aang spun around to see Toph Bei Fong, grinning like a maniac. She knew that it kind of freaked him out that, even though she was blind, she could tell where and who everyone was.

Aang smiled. "Hey, Toph."

Toph nodded in the general direction of the menu. "What's it today, twinkletoes?"

Aang glanced at the menu, reading the food schedule out loud. "Uh…casserole, beans, and…salad."

Toph rolled her sightless eyes ever-so-slightly. "Great. Poison, disgusting, and a great tool for bulimic people." She said as Aang read. She sighed. "Oh well… Hey, twinkletoes, how's Sugarqueen? Did she get back?" She asked with little interest.

Aang immediately perked up at the mention of Katara. "Oh, she's fine…As far as I know. We only talked for a second on the way here. Hey, did you know that Sokka has a car?"

Toph laughed as they moved forward and Aang got some casserole. "Dude, seriously? Wow, hey how's it look?" She asked, eager to get a picture of it in her mind.

Aang Frowned. "Um…Like Gyatso, only a baby blue color."

Toph just snorted. "Wow. Not a very clear picture, since I've never seen either one of those…But I think I get the picture." She said, grabbing some casserole herself.

Aang looked at her. "Sorry," He said shaking his head. "It's just so hard to remember that-"

Toph shrugged and cut him off. "No big deal, twinkletoes. Just…Don't get all sentimental on me, ok?" She asked, punching him lightly on the arm.

Aang smiled "Ok."

The two friends got out of line and started to look for a table. Well, Aang did, anyway. Toph just kind of…Followed him.

"Ow!" She said, bumping into Aang as he stopped walking. "Twinkletoes, what the heck are you doing, move!" Toph shoved him, since the cafeteria was really very crowded and there was no other way for her to go. Usually, she would be able to shove him to the ground without much effort, but Aang stayed rooted to the spot.

"Toph…" Aang said suddenly, his voice filled with fear. "Hide me."

"Mo…Wait, what?!" Toph asked, and stopped pushing him.

Aang ran behind her. "Hide meeeee!!" He whispered loudly, clutching the back of her shirt.

Toph pried him off of her back, and rolled her eyes. "Ok one, no way am I letting you hide behind me! And two, you're going to have to face Zuko _sometime_ today." She would have crossed her arms if she didn't have a tray of food in her hands. Or at least, whatever it was in the cafeteria that they passed for food.

"Yeah, well I'd like to live long enough to see Katara one last time!" Aang wined.

"Oh get over yourself, baby! You see her, like, every _two_ periods!" Toph exclaimed as she made Aang continue walking.

Aang found their usual table and sat down as quickly as possible, one of his hands hiding his face from Zuko, or at least, trying to. "Besides," Aang said as soon as Zuko was out of their line of sight. "Gyatso will _kill_ me if I come home with _another_ black eye!"

Toph snorted. "So? Don't get one. _Defend_ yourself!" She picked up her spork and sniffed the casserole with disgust. "Besides," She said, putting it down. "Zuko hasn't talked to anyone in, like, a whole _year_."

That time, it was Aang's turn to snort. "Pu-_lease_. Zuko doesn't want to _talk_ to me, he wants to _beat me up_!"

Toph took out one of the many, many, MANY salt packets that she hid in her backpack, since the school didn't offer salt. A true crime, in her opinion. If they wanted to stop obesity, they should stop selling their ice-cream. But, since she always had a bowl of it, she wasn't _too_ upset about it.

"Hey, Aang!" Katara waved from the other side of the cafeteria.

Aang stood up in a flash, knocking over his can of soda. "Katara! Over here!"

Toph heard the spill and picked up her tray as to keep her lunch dry and non-sticky, which was more than she could say for Aang's shirt.

"Ahh!" He looked down at the brownish stain, and started rubbing it furiously with his napkin.

Katara plopped down next to Toph and picked up Aang's can, setting it back upright on the table. "Oh, Aang. You need to watch what you're doing!" Aang's cheeks burned 100 different shades of red, but Katara took not notice, or if she did, she didn't show it. "Toph, I can't believe this, but I missed your sarcasm while I was gone!" She laughed and started to eat her lunch, blabbing on about her vacation.

Toph rolled her misty-colored eyes. "Glad to know that I'm loved." She said in a tone oozing with bitter sarcasm. She had never liked something about Katara, but she could never put a finger on it.

Toph pursed her lips while barely listening to Katara, unlike Aang, who was hanging on her every word. _'Love-sick baby.'_ She thought to herself.

"Really? Wow, that's great, Katara!" Aang said happily, in a tone that he reserved only for Katara. When Katara was there, Aang would agree with every word that she said, even if she was dead wrong, and he knew it.

Katara giggled at something that he said, and Toph could just picture Aang grinning like the idiot that he was.

Yeah, there was definitely something about her that Toph didn't like.


	2. Chapter 2: Stay alive in this stampede

**Chapter 2**

.:Later:.

Sokka poked his nose above his umbrella, watching the…Well, _one_ of the girls of his dreams. "Princess Yue" as Toph bitterly calls her. He dreamily watched her from behind the, uh, safety of his rather large umbrella that leaned against the soft, golden sand of C.S.'s Beach.

C.S. took up the entire space of a very large island. Only the long beach remained un-industrialized. This place was a popular hang-out for everyone and anyone from 5 to 50, so that, unfortunately, made the space pretty tight.

Yue turned slightly, and Sokka was sure that she saw him, so he spun around, leaving her line of sight, and acted like he was just…Getting a tan? Sokka smacked himself on the forehead. He didn't want Yue to think that he had to actually _work_ for his gorgeous tan. Or at least, gorgeous in his eyes.

"Sokka?" He heard Yue's voice from above him.

"H-hey, Yue! I didn't see you there!" Sokka choked out, pushing his sunglasses up on his head. All of the sudden, it felt like his throat was a desert, all dry and no wet.

Yue had on one of her many, many white bathing suits, this one a simple tube-top and bottoms. Her hair was in a ponytail braid, but it was loose, and some of her spotless pearl-colored hair fell in her eyes. A true goddess, or at least, in Sokka's eyes.

"Watchya doing here?" She asked, plopping down next to him.

"O-oh, nothing." Sokka swallowed. "I was just…Uh, getting a tan! Yeah…" He smiled, but when she turned her head towards the ocean, he smacked his forehead again.

"Oh Sokka, can you believe that its only February and it's already warm enough for the beach!" Yue laughed, leaning back and supporting herself with her elbows.

Sokka nodded weirdly. "The news says that it's global warming, but _I_ say that that's crap. They were saying the world was going to freeze over like, ten years ago."

Yue looked up at him and shaded her eyes from the sun. "Really?"

Sokka nodded proudly and then jumped up. "Well, that's just theory number one, so it's either that, or aliens are watching us and experimenting with their massive weather machines by making it warm way early in the year!" Sokka ranted, waving his arms widely.

Yue just smiled and laughed. "Oh, Sokka…" All of the sudden, her mood changed from amused and slightly creeped out, to very sullen. Neither one of them moved for a few seconds, both wanting to say something to end the uncomfortable silence.

"Hey Yue!" Yue's boyfriend called from several feet away. The college student came running up, his thick dark hair bouncing as he ran. He had an awesome tan; A real one, one that made his already hot body even hotter.

Yue jumped up off the ground and dusted the sand off of herself before he came over. "Hey, Baby." He grabbed Yue by the waist and kissed on the forehead. "Hey, Joe." Yue smiled and hugged him.

Sokka all of the sudden felt very out of place and very jealous.

Joe looked at Sokka as if he had just noticed him, and looked him up and down, a I'm-better-than-you smirk on his face. "Who's this, Baby? Is this the annoying stalker that you were complaining about?"

Yue laughed, apparently finding that extremely funny, and playfully slapped her boyfriend's arm. "No, silly! This is my good friend, Sokka." She turned towards him and smiled the sweetest smile possible. "He's practally my best friend."

That made Sokka's cheeks turn a brighter red than any sun burn.

Joe didn't like what she said about Sokka, obviously, "Oooooh, you mean that gay friend of yours? Nice to meet you, sir." He said with a sly grin, still holding on to Yue.

"What?! I'm not gay!" Sokka shouted, making several of the surrounding beach-goers stare.

Yue's smile faded slightly. "I never said that, Joe."

Joe didn't listen, and continued as if neither Sokka nor Yue had never said anything. "You're that gay whore, no offence, of course." He grinned. "Yue said that you were having a little trouble in the business, 'cause you got herpes or something. So sorry about that, by the way…"

"Joe!" Yue exclaimed.

"WHAT?!" Sokka's face flushed, his fists clenched in anger. "I do NOT have HERPES!" He shouted. Once he said that, everyone on the beach stopped whatever they were doing and stared. "I….I-I mean…" Sokka's anger was at once replaced with embarrassment. "….Heh, heh…."

Yue pulled herself out of Joe's grasp. "Joe!" She slapped him on the arm again, only this time definitely not as playfully. "I _never _said that!" Her face was flushed as well.

Sokka looked at Yue, hurt in his blue eyes. "No, it's ok Yue. I get it…" He turned and shuffled off, not even going back for his towel of umbrella. Suddenly he stopped, however, and spun around to face Joe, his finger pointed at his face. "Oh, and I AM NOT GAY!!"

* * *

Ah, the school bell. It represents life and death. It is the sign that you're either free to live your life for the rest of the day, or that you're about to learn something. 'Thankfully' Toph thought to herself 'Right now it is life.'

Everyone in the large classroom had their eyes on the clock, waiting, watching, and hoping that two minutes would pass in the blink of an eye. Of course, when you're waiting for time to pass by fast, it seems to go slower than a snail, so Toph tried not to think about the time.

Aang was one of the very few handful of kids who were actually listening to the teacher, who wanted the two minutes to pass by even more than the kids did.

"…So that means that when you measure inertia, you're-" The teacher stopped and pointed to the pink obsessed girl in the back who had raised her hand. "Yes, Ty-lee?"

Ty-lee put down her hand and asked, "Why are we talking about it…inar…inarfa, interna, inernie, ier-" The teacher cut her off. "Inertia." He corrected sternly.

"Oh, right." Ty-lee giggled, twirling her hair around her finger. "I thought we were talking about the great war." She said, a look of bewilderment on her face.

The teacher sighed. "That was history, Ty-lee, this is science…Now, where was I…Oh, yes. When you-"

The beloved school bell rang in everyone's ears, and they all tried to cram through the door and leave.

Aang grabbed Toph's arm once they got in the hallway, much to her frustration, and he began to push his way through the crowd of teens, trying to get out into the parking lot. Of course, Toph though that he grabbed her arm to make sure she didn't get trampled, and she hated being treated like a delicate flower, which she wasn't. But what she didn't know was that he grabbed her arm to make sure _he_ didn't fall over.

"Get off me, Twinkletoes!" Toph jabbed him in the stomach.

"Ow!" Aang yelped. "Hey, don't get mad at me, I'm just trying to stay alive in this stampede!"

The school was a very large one that had many, many halls running throughout it. Most of the halls were flooded with students drained of life once school got out, and that made it nearly impossible to navigate safely, so the average student's best hope was to go with the flow. So, they'd either end up outside, or in the janitor's closet.

"yeah, whatever." Toph took charge of the situation, pushing through the crowd, even though she couldn't see who she was pushing, or where she was going.

Not the smartest idea for the average student. But Toph was anything _but_ average.

She felt a small tug on her shirt, and knew that it was Aang, trying to not get separated. Gah! He was _such_ a baby! Besides, he was stretching out her shirt, and it was one of her favorites.

Eventually, they managed to get out of hell-I mean school- and Aang led Toph to Sokka's car. Surprisingly, only Suki was there. Aang almost winced. Toph and Suki didn't really mix well. At all.

"Heyyyyy, Suki!" Aang called, trying to give Toph a heads up, and a warning to be nice.

"Hey Aang. Have you seen Sokka? Were partners on a history project, and I want to get a head start." Suki said casually, totally ignoring Toph, which Toph didn't mind, because she was ignoring Suki, too.

Aang sighed. _'Toph has friends everywhere, doesn't she?'_ He thought to himself.

"Uhhhhh, nope. Sorry." Aang shrugged, leaning through one of Sokka's open windows-he wasn't exactly Mr. safety-and pulled out his skateboard. He dropped it on the pavement and was about to skate off, but Toph stopped him.

"I _know_ that you're not about to abandon me to…_That_." She jerked her thumb over her shoulder, in the general direction of Suki and Sokka's car.

Aang wanted to frown, but restrained himself. "Come on, Toph. You're not…_Afraid_ of Suki, are you?" He grinned.

"Freak no!" Toph let go of Aang's shoulder and crossed her arms. "But," She poked Aang in the ribs. Aang was always surprised by how accurate she was, even though she was blind. "You're not leaving me here, all my myself."

Aang pulled his hat down over his eyes then sighed. "Then, what do you want me to do? I've got to go to work, Toph."

She snorted, "Like I care about your work the Old Man."

Aang was almost about to argue, but decided against it. After all, Gyatso _was_ kind of old.

"Tell you what," Toph said, and Aang pulled his hat back up above his eyes, "I'll let you walk me home."

"Let me? More like force me." Aang chuckled.

"Ahh, let, force. There's such a fine line, that it's hard to tell which one to use at which time, you know?" Aang was about to comment, but Toph just patted him on the shoulder, chuckling to herself. "I bet you do. Now, come on, I'll get in trouble if I'm home after 5."

"But it's only three forty."

"Eh, so I might make you buy me and ice-cream on the way home, big deal." She shrugged.

"But-but! You're the rich one!" Aang whined.

"Not really, It's all my dad's money." Toph shrugged. "Now, come on, I want to be able to get there before that one college kid's shift ends."

Aang bent down to pick up his skateboard and groaned. "I guess that there's no getting out of this one…Wait-_What_ college kid?!"

Toph shrugged. "Whichever one's working there right now. I'm not picky about who I terrorize."

* * *

Katara ran to her brother's car as soon as she got out of school.

"Sokka!"

The teen had been bunched over the remaining doughnuts that she had gotten earlier.

"Hphn?" Sokka almost choked on all of the jelly-filled doughnuts in his mouth.

"Sokka, I can't believe you!" Katara exclaimed. "One of the teachers pulled me over as I was walking out of school and asked me if you were sick. When I told her no, the asked me if you were in the hospital, and I said no again! Then she said that if you have nothing wrong-and I told her that you didn't-that you'd have detention for the next two weeks for skipping classes three days in a row! Mind explaining that to me?!" Katara finally finished saying in one breath.

"Hugurugh!" Sokka complained…At least, Katara _thought_ that he was complaining.

"I don't want to hear whatever it is that you have to say, but just so you know, I'm telling dad." Katara stated firmly to her brother before crossing over to the passenger side of the car and placing herself securely in the seat.

"Just drive me to work, and I'll think about it."

Sokka nodded and buckled up, after swallowing the last of the doughnuts in his mouth.

"Got it…..Wait, which one?"

* * *

Zuko grumbled, making his way through the crowded streets of C.S. He didn't really know where he was going, but he had been walking ever since he got out of school. He never saw that scrawny kid, Aang, and was wondering why. He had kind of looked forward to beating the kid up, it helped him relieve stress.

If he hadn't of been in such a bad mood, Zuko might have smiled at the thought, but he was too busy trying to block out all thoughts of his evil sister, Azula.

She and her two minions had been bugging him, and although only Azula meant it, he still wanted all three of them to be locked up and shipped to…As far away from him as possible.

But, then again…He and Mai kind of had a thing, he thought. Of course, it was more of a 'friends with benefits' thing, but it was still a thing.

"Hey, slow down!" Zuko spun around at the monotone sound of Mai's voice. She had obviously been running trying to catch up to him, but in the mini-skirt that she was wearing, along with the combat boots, and thousands of pieces of black jewelry, she was having a hard time.

"Mai? Why are you following me?" He asked a bit harsher than he intended.

Mai, not really fazed by him, bent over once she caught up to him, laying a hand on his arm for support. "C-Can't…Breath…Hold…On…" She wheezed.

Zuko's arm stiffened visibly at Mai's touch. Physical contact wasn't exactly something he did with girls.

Once Mai had let go of his arm, he kept walking, hoping that she hadn't noticed his cheeks turn a light shade of pink. Unfortunately, she did.

"You want to go see a play with me?" She asked, getting right to the point, but not sounding like she cared one way or the other.

"Uh…Why?"

Mai shrugged. "I've got nothing better to do."

Zuko was silent for a few moments, but kept walking. Finally, he said, "Do I have to pay?"

"I don't care. It would be gentlemanly, but since you're such a cheap-skake…" Mai trailed off.

Zuko groaned. "Fine. I'll pay. But this better be good."

Mai re-directed him towards the theater. "How should I know? It's community theater, so it's probably crappy. But, it beats dinner."

Zuko grumbled. "I guess."

Mai entwined her fingers with his. "It'll be better than you think it will."

Zuko glanced down at their hands, dumbfounded. "Sure."

Just then it started raining hard. Zuko pursed his lips. It had been beautiful all day up till now, the sun was out, it was warmer, and everyone had been at the beach. But, that was C.S. for ya, sunshine one minute, and a blizzard the next. Zuko realized his hand from Mai's and put his red hoody up over his dark hair. As soon as he was done, though, Mai grabbed his hand again. Obviously, she wasn't going to give up easily, for someone who couldn't care less.

But, Zuko wasn't sure if he even wanted Mai's hand in his.

**Ok, chapter 2!! Comment, and tell me what you think, ok?? Oh, and Ideas are always a good thing, so if you guys have any suggestions, just shoot!!...Not literally!! XD**


	3. Chapter 3: the worst old man imitation

**Note:** I mean no offence in any way to anybody. If there are any characters in here that are made fun of, it's for funniness _only_, **not** to be taken seriously. Thanks. Oh, and sorry for the delay. Also, _slight_ name change. "It's" and "The" have been taken off. just to let you know...

**Disclaimer:** And NO, I don't own A:tLA…If I DID, kataang wouldn't have happened. Obviously. And I wouldn't have had a little kid's book about the finale get published…Oh well.

* * *

.:**Chapter 3**:.

"You there, little girl!" Katara turned toward the director of the theater as he shouted at her.

"Yes?"

"I thought I told you to paint the background an aquamarine! _Aquamarine_! Not baby blue! Do I have to spell everything out for you?! We open in fifteen minutes, and you're ruining my dream!" The distraught man exclaimed, his skinny arms waving up and down.

"Uh…Sorry, baby blue was all the paint store had." Katara said calmly. She had learned long ago how to deal with the feminine man and his freak-out ways.

"Well, you need to find a way and fix this! It's supposed to be_ fierce_, not _pleasant_! I can't work under these conditions!" He flung his long, braided hair over his shoulder. "Just…Make it work!"

"But, Mr. Boring!" Katara pleaded. Normally, she would have laughed…If that wasn't his real name. But the director was already off and patronizing some other helpless volunteer.

Sighing, Katara decided to let the background be, since she knew that Mr. Boring wouldn't notice it again, anyways. She ushered one of the actresses over and bent down to the hem of her costume. The poorly made gown was already falling apart at the edges, so Katara picked up a needle and some thread and started sewing.

"Make sure that you don't trip over yourself, or tear the dress, 'cause it'll all fall apart." Katara instructed the actress, Song.

Song nodded, flinging a curl over her bare shoulder. "Yeah, ok."

Katara finished with that and helped fix the main actor's head-piece before Mr. Boring called for everyone to "take your places, the play is about to start!"

Katara scrambled to patch up a basket and give it to Song.

"Ok! You, assistant girl! Come and help pull up the curtain!" Mr. Boring shouted, careful not to disturb the audience in front of the closed curtain.

Katara grabbed the thick, rough rope and as Mr. Boring counted down 3…2…1, she gave a big tug.

* * *

Zuko let Mai drag him into a seat towards the top, where few people sat. For a community theater, it was rather large. Zuko grumbled something about a draft, but Mai paid him no mind, because the truth was, she didn't really care.

The play turned out to be Beauty and the Beast. Zuko, although he swore he would never admit it, got more and more enticed by the story by the second. He failed to see how a girl such as Beauty could love-or even be able to touch-the Beast without flinching.

Zuko caught himself leaning forward in his seat, and sat back quickly. He glanced over at Mai, who actually seemed really, really bored.

'_Funny,'_ He thought to himself. _'How Mai was the only one who actually _wanted_ to go to this thing, anyhow.'_

Finally, Zuko decided that he needed to detach himself from the story, of else he would make a complete fool of himself. He got out of his seat, and made his way towards the end of the row.

Zuko tried to find the bathroom, searching high and low. Finally, he got one of the ushers to direct him to one, in the back.

Zuko made his way towards the back, past the curtains, and back past the wardrobe racks, till he found the door that had a very sloppy "restroom" painted on the top. He sighed and tried to open the door, but only made it an inch or two before it jammed. He had to lift up and push hard before he actually opened it.

Once he came out, after spending a few minutes only looking at his scar, and comparing what he saw in himself to what he saw in the Beast character, he almost bumped into one of the stage hands, who was carrying one of the Beast's head-pieces.

"Oh, sorry!" The worker jumped back quickly.

"Yeah. Sorry." Zuko grumbled, and was about to continue back towards Mai, but a voice called out his name in surprise.

"Zuko?!"

Zuko spun around at the source of the feminine voice, Katara. _'Oh, Great.'_

"…What?" He asked in a gruff voice.

"What are you doing harassing Maggie?" She asked, smiling.

Zuko rolled his eyes. "I wasn't harassing her, she almost ran into me."

Katara smiled, always trying to be nice to him. "Well I…"

"Listen, I've got a…Friend up there, waiting for me. Bye." Zuko tried to walk away.

But, of course Katara wouldn't give up so easily. "Zuko, do like the play?"

"What?" Zuko asked. It was the most random thing that he had heard all day, besides Mai wanting to go to the theater with him.

"Because, if you do…" Katara continued, but Zuko cut her off.

"Bye, Katara." He grunted as he walked off, hands in his pockets, head down. The last thing he wanted was another head-ache, and Katara was one of the few people who could give him a real migraine.

Katara sighed as she watched the teen walk off towards the audience, sticking to the shadows, so that no one saw him walk past the curtain that was not far to his right, and up the stairs. She kept her eyes on him till she saw that he sat down next to one of his sister's side-kicks, Mai. Katara pursed her lips. She tried very hard to help Zuko, trying every time that she saw him, working to grow his good side. Mai, Katara felt, could-would-ruin it all. And Katara would not let Zuko become worse than he already was. She had been working too hard and too long for that.

Sighing for the tenth time, it seemed, Katara went back to work. The ballroom scene was coming up, and Katara would need to help Song get into the large gown that Katara herself had made. That, and she didn't want Mr. Boring nagging her again.

* * *

"Happy, now?" Aang asked. He would have slammed the ice cream on the table, but Toph grabbed his fore-arm and yanked the chocolate ice cream out of his hands. After shoving and big spoonful into her mouth, she nodded. "Yeah, I'm happy."

"Well, good. That cost me more than half of my allowance." Aang sighed, looking down at what it had bough them.

"Hmmg, huw frobuby dun't hvhen hut awowhnce!" Toph said, half of her ice cream already in her mouth.

Aang stared blankly, trying to make sense of the girl's "words". Thankfully, Toph decided to tell him, anyway. "You probably don't even get an allowance!" She clarified.

"Hey, you just eat your ice cream! I don't need any lip from you!" Aang joked, making his voice sound as much like Gyatso as he could. Which wasn't very much, and he ended up sounding like…Something else.

"Toph laughed. "You do _the_ _worst_ old man imitation that I've _ever_ seen!"

Aang smiled. "And you should've been a boy, with that appetite."

"Ow! Toph, what the heck was that for?!"

Toph shrugged. "Just backing up my next comment: That you should've been a girl, since you're such a wimp."

Aang rubbed the knee that had just been kicked. "Psh, whatever. Just eat your ice cream."

He watched as she shoved the small spoonfuls of ice cream in her mouth, savoring the sweet flavor. She licked her soft, pink lips as if to get any missed flavor, before diving right back in. Aang went at a slower pace, but slowly his frozen treat disappeared as well. As he watched Toph put the small plastic bowl to her mouth, trying to lick any remaining ice cream. Aang stared, she kind of looked like an alien, her tongue sticking out as far as it would go, and her mouth and chin disfigured by the plastic. He made no attempt to hide the huge grin, but strangely a part of him expected that she'd see it.

He wanted her to see it.

"OK, Twinkletoes," Toph said as she brought the plastic cup away from her mouth and set it back on the table. "Take me home."

Aang took a second, seemingly lost in thought. His storm colored eyes were fixed on her misty ones. They were so different from Katara's, he thought, but so alike in many ways…

"Yo, twinkles!" Toph waved her hand up and down in front of her face, snapping Aang out of his reverie.

"Huh?" He asked dumbly.

"Take. Me. Home." Toph pronounced slowly, making sure that he understood her.

"Oh. Right." Aang nodded and scooped up the two bowls. He walked over towards the door and tossed the plastic items into a very colorful trashcan. "Let's go." He smiled.

* * *

Toph loved making Aang suffer, and what better way to do that than to make him late to do one of the things that he did best? _'Well,' _Toph considered for a moment _'Actually a few things…'_ One of the ways, she decided, would be oh-so fun, and wouldn't take very long at all. Plus, she was bored. She nudged him suddenly, getting his attention, as well as almost getting him a busted knee, but he didn't fall. Unfortunately.

"Ow! What?!"

"So, Aang. Tell me about your love-life." Toph said, slinging her arm around the kid.

"My…Love-life?" Aang asked, fixing his hat nervously. He knew that she only used his name when she was about to do something mean. Usually to him.

"You know, how's your noble quest for the Sugarqueen goin'?" She clarified, a big sly grin on her face.

"Heh…Toph, if you think that-"

Toph cut him off by poking him in the chest. "Oh, suck it, twinkletoes. Everyone-Well, maybe except sweetness herself- knows that you are totally in _loooooove_ with her!" She sighed dramatically, bringing the back of her hand to her fore-head, just for the effect. Her only regret was that she couldn't see his face flush with embarrassment

"Oh, well I...Oh look! We're here!" Aang suddenly jerked away from under her arm and opened the gate that let into Toph's huge, and overly glamorous estate. Well, her parent's estate, anyway.

"Oh…Right." Toph looked down, sort of disappointed. "Ahem…I mean, right! Uh…Bye…"

"Bye, To-Toph?!" Aang asked, suddenly very alarmed as Toph pulled him into a sudden and tight hug, but it was over almost before it had started. Toph was about to rush off into the safety of her parent's estate, but she stopped, and turned towards him suddenly, as if a thought had just acured to her. She poked him very hard in the chest.

"That _never_ happened."

* * *

Aang skateboarded past some old ladies, maneuvering around them with precision that had come with years of practice. The two frail women yelled at him, of course. But that was to be expected. Usually, Aang would be more considerate, after all, he was Mr. "respect the Wrinkles", as Toph would say. He almost smiled, but he was too disturbed by what Toph had done. If it had been a hug that was followed by a wedgie, he wouldn't have noticed, but that had just been a hug. And Toph didn't do hugs. Ever… Or, so he had thought.

Was it possible that Toph…Had a crush on _him_? Aang?

No, no it wasn't possible…Right?

Right.

Right!

…Right?

"Whoa! Hey, watch where you're going Aang!" Aang was wretched from his thoughts.

"Huh?" His head swerved, trying to see who had said that. It was a very feminine voice that could have only come from-

_**BAM!**_

"Aang! Are you alright?!"

"Ugh…Katara?" Aang asked distantly. He saw her vague figure above him, a worried frown on her face. At least, Aang thought that it was a frown. Everything still looked kind of blurry.

"Here, let me help you up." Katara placed a firm arm around him ribs and lifted, trying to be gentle.

"What…Happened?" Aang groaned.

"…You ran into a pole." Katara almost laughed. "You Ok?"

"I'm ok." Aang demanded, trying to shake off the pain he felt coming from…His elbow?

He examined it, conforming that it was, indeed, busted. Blood dripped down his arm at a steady rate, and Aang could see some gravel that had been kind of stuck in there. "Ugh, great." Aang rolled his eyes. Gyatso was going to kill him. For being late and getting hurt on his skate board. He was probably going to insist that he walk to school, and take his board away.

"What?" Katara asked, then eyed his bloody elbow. "Ew, gross!" She covered her mouth. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Aang forced a smile. He wasn't fine, he really wanted to cry right then.

"You sure?" Katara didn't sound convinced.

"Yeah, no problem! I'll just…Go home and clean it. Gyatso will have some band-aids." Aang's eyes began to water.

"Well, ok. But only since you're already almost home anyways."

"Huh? Oh yeah, I am!" Aang hadn't noticed…Obviously.

"Ok, Bye Aang."

"Bye Katara." Aang gingerly picked up his board. He decided that it was safer if he walked for the next block and a half. Unless he tripped on a ladybug or something. And with his track record, it'd be right in front of Gyatso, or someone like that. Aang sighed, and started walking. Thankfully, the rest of the walk went by without a glitch.

"Gyatso, I'm hooome!" Aang shouted as he came in through the back door, which was actually the door that faced the road. Eh, it was what you got when you lived in a hangar. The entire place smelled like fuel, and Aang smacked his hand against his fore-head. Of course Gyatso would leave without him. He'd have to if he wanted to make some deliveries. Just to be sure, though, he ran into the main room/hangar to see if Appa was still there.

Gone.

The pain in Aang's elbow came back. "Psh. Figures."

Aang heard a quiet noise coming from Gyatso's room, and a faint light was flickering. He rolled his eyes. Gyatso probably had just left his small black and white t.v. in his room on. Aang went over to turn it off, but what the man on the screen was saying caught his attention. He bent down and turned up the volume.

"…Thanks Kim. As you can see, there are huge storms coming in from both the north and south. I've never seen anything quite like it. Yes-sir-e, it's going to be a big one. Everyone is advised to stay indoors for tonight, since this has the potential to become a hurricane. It's nothing too big yet, though. Back to you, Kim…"

Aang turned it back down. He ran outside and looked up at the sky. It was sunny, but not too far off at all was a big bunch of stormy clouds. They were dark grey and purple, wind swirling around them, pushing them towards land desperately. Light occasionally flashed, and a very faint boom could be heard. It almost felt as if the stormy clouds were challenging Aang, his own stormy grey eyes wide with wonder. The ocean under the clouds looked just as mad, and Aang could see the many white heads from there. This was going to be a very bad storm, and that was only half of it...

…Gyatso was about to fly right through it.

**Dum dum Dummmmmm!! Cliffy!! Ok, so I know that I haven't inrodused all of the characters yet, but some of them aren't meant to come in yet.**

**Also, tell me what you think, if I should change things or not. I value your opinion, peoples!! You get a cookie if you comment!! ;P**


	4. Chapter 4: Because it’s stupid

**Disclaimer:** If I owned anything, I wouldn't be here!!

* * *

**Chapter 4**

"ORDER UP!"

Uncle Iroh's Chinese restaurant was at it's busiest in the afternoon to evening. The semi-large restaurant wasn't very well lit, except for small paper lanterns on each table. Everything from the dark wooden floor to the black painted ceiling was Chinese, with dragons almost everywhere. And even though he was the one who decorated it, Iroh wasn't even Chinese. To make it even worse, it was a Saturday. Zuko glanced irritably at the antique clock on the wall.

'_2:33. Figures.'_

Zuko picked up the platter that had been set down. 'Three egg rolls and a side of rice, to go to table 7' was what the little sticky sheet next to it said. He glanced over to table 7, and rolled his eyes. Figures that it'd be someone like Ty Lee. As Zuko got closer to the table, though, his frown deepened. Another girl came back from the bathroom and sat down next to the girl who was, as usual, dressed in pink.

"Well hello, Zuzu. It's busy today, I see." Azula greeted him with her signature smirk.

Zuko had no idea what made guys fall for that witch.

"Who's this for?" Zuko asked, pointedly ignoring his younger sister.

"Oh, it's mine!" Ty lee giggled. She had been playing with the sugar cubes that came in a small jar on the table. Iroh always demanded that they stay there, and then would chuckle to himself, saying _"For there is nothing of greater pleasure than sugar in the form of a small cube!"_

Zuko nodded and set the plate down in front of the giggling girl. "Will that be all?" He forced out, only the desire to keep his job motivating him.

"No." Azula smiled. She dug into her small, scarlet hand bag, and pulled out a small slip of paper. "Would you be a good big brother and give this to Mai?"

Zuko snatched the paper out of Azula's manicured little talons and stuffed it in his pocket before marching off towards the kitchen.

"Uncle!"

"Yes, my nephew?" Iroh didn't turn from the cup of tea that he was pouring.

"Where's Mai?" Zuko took the cup of tea Iroh had poured and set it with two others, along with a small decorative pot.

"Take that to table 3…She should be getting back from her break very soon, this is the time when I need her most." Iroh chuckled at how well his business was going as he wiped down one of the countertops.

"Well..." Zuko pulled the small slip of paper out of his pocket. It suddenly occurred to him to actually _read_ what the paper said.

"_B-day party tonight at 8  
__Bring a date"_

Zuko almost slapped his fore-head. Azula's birthday. How could he forget? It was one of the two most traumatizing days of the year. The one thing that his mother had done wrong, and she didn't even have any say in it.

"Uhh…Give this to Mai when you see her."

Zuko handed the paper to his uncle and headed towards table three. But, as he set down the tray, he recognized one of the three people sitting down. It was that actress from the play that Mai had dragged him to yesterday! He didn't remember her name, but he recognized her delicate round face. She was with Two other people, one of them was a guy who looked about Zuko's age, maybe a year or so younger. The other was…Weird. It was an older man, with long orange hair that was going gray and it was pulled into a long braid. He had small, round green sunglasses that slid down his nose. The sleeves of his shirt were billowy and a faded yellow. He also had a purple velvet vest on. Zuko looked away as soon as he could, that guy was off his rocker.

"…So what'd ya say, hm? I'm thinking the little mermaid, or snow white! I'm on a roll with these princess tales, you know!" The weirdo crackled. "Oh! Here we are. That was fast, boy. You guys sure are good at your job!"

Zuko muttered a "Thanks." before setting the tea on the table, in front of each person.

"I don't know, Boring." The boy said. "Those are both sissy tales."

"Oh, shut up Haru!" The girl smacked the boy-Haru-on the arm. "I say that we should do The little mermaid. And Katty can help! She's so good when it comes to costumes, and things like that."

"Brilliant idea, Song, Brilliant! Yes, Miss Blue is such a big help, though she almost ruined the whole play yesterday when she painted the background's flowers baby blue! Ugh, I swear, it's like she's deaf sometimes!" Boring waved a hand in the air in a _very_ feminine way.

Zuko turned to go. "You there, boy?" Zuko really didn't like how that 'Boring' guy called him 'Boy'. "Yes?"

"I saw you at our play yesterday. Backstage. Tell me, do you volunteer at the theater?"

Zuko gave him a look that said he was crazy. "No."

"Oh, well…Would you like to?"

"No."

"Darn! You see, I'm going to need some help with building the set-nails and hammers and all that jazz. I could use all the help that I could get." Zuko restrained from rolling his eyes. Was this some kind of attempt at persuading him? Like he was ever going to work in the same place as "miss blue", who he had a very big suspicion was Katara.

"Who needs help, my nephew?" Iroh asked, walking up behind Zuko, a smile on his old chubby face.

"I do!" Mr. Boring answered. He wasn't stupid enough to not notice how the server boy followed his boss' every whim, and the boy looked strong. Besides, a little community service never hurt anybody.

"Ah, Hector! How are you, my good friend?" Iroh grinned, shaking Boring's hand.

"I am just fine, Iroh. Except that it seems one of your employees doesn't want to help out in the community!" Boring grinned right back at him.

"Well, why don't you help, nephew?" Iroh nudged Zuko after Boring had explained his "little mermaid" situation.

"Because it's stupid." The teen crossed his arms, not caring if he was being rude.

"Oh come now, it'll be fun. Besides, a little community service never hurt anyone!" Iroh chuckled.

"I agree!" Boring jumped in.

"Oh, of course you agree, Mr. Boring!" Song sighed. "Look," she continued, turning towards Zuko with a smile. "I'll make sure you have a fun time!"

"Yeah, the theater's great!" Haru added happily.

"Please, my nephew? It will get you out of the house for a while. Iroh needs his Iroh time!" Iroh laughed and patted his large belly.

"…Fine." Zuko growled low.

"Great!" Song and Iroh chimed at the same time.

"Excellent! You're going to be a lot of help, my boy!" Boring put a hand on his shoulder, but Zuko jerked away as he went back into the kitchen.

* * *

"Are you sure that he would be flying in that direction?"

"Of course I'm sure! And he isn't back yet!" Aang's knuckles gripped his small cell phone so tight that his entire hand was white.

"Well…Wasn't it an overnight trip?"

"…Yeah…" Aang admitted, but he still wasn't convinced.

"Well, there you go!" Sokka exclaimed, picking wax out of the ear that he wasn't listening to Aang with.

"But, what if-!"

"Ah! I don't want to hear it! Gyatso is fine, Aang."

"…I guess."

"Ok, good. Now you have to help me with my problem."

"Ok, what?"

"Yue has a boyfriend! And Suki is coming over to work on our project!"

"…I don't see anything bad about the second one, Sokka."

"But I don't know what to do!"

"Haha. Just work on your project, stupid!"

"But what if I say something stupid?!"

"Sokka, knowing you, that can hardly be avoided."

"Hmph. You're spending too much time with Toph, Aang. She's rubbing off on you!"

"Yeah right! You know that she did the craziest thing the other day?"

"What'd she do?"

"She hugged me! Toph Bei-fong hugged me! She must be sick."

"If you mean love sick, then sure."

"What'd you say?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing!"

"No, really. What'd you say?!"

"Nothing, Aang! Oh look, Suki's here! She's talking to Katara, better go save her!"

"…Ok, good luck, Sokka."

"Heh. Thanks little buddy."

Aang hung up his cell phone and stuffed the cheep device in his pocket for safe-keeping.

"Come on, Momo, lets go get something to eat." Aang said kindly to his small cat. Momo just looked up at him with big lime green eyes, and purred. Aang laughed. "Good boy, Momo." He picked up his pet and went to the kitchen to find some food. Seeing that there was nothing for him to eat, Aang settled for just feeding Momo.

"…I guess I'm going out." Aang said after a while, watching as Momo munched on his food. "See ya later, Momo!"

Aang grabbed his skateboard and was about to walk out the door, but he paused and stared at his bandaged elbow. He had still needed Katara to come over and help him, but that was mainly because he got himself tied up in bandages and needed help getting out. But, still. _"Be more careful!" _Katara had told him. Maybe it would impress her if he didn't ride his skateboard so much…Then again, he really loved his skateboard. But, for his love, he would do anything…Right?

Aang shook his head, he was thinking _way_ too much. First he started thinking about Toph and his relationship, an he ran into a pole. It was very clear to him that any more thinking would result in more injuries on his part.

He set the skateboard down after some more thought, though. He wouldn't mind walking this time.

"Bye, Momo!" He shouted one last time, which earned him a small "meow" from his small cat. "Haha. Yah, I'll miss you too, buddy."

* * *

Katara watched as Sokka led Suki into his room, and smiled when Sokka made extra sure to leave the door wide open. Sokka was so awkward around girls, and it was so obvious that he wasn't comforterable around the athletic girl, even though they were both clearly into each other.

"Katara, will you go get my fishing net from the dock?" Katara's father, Hakoda, called from the kitchen, making himself sandwich. "Bato and myself are going on a little fishing trip today, and won't be back till very late. I'm not sure how lucky we'll be, though, with that storm that came through. That was one heck of a night."

"Tell me about it." Katara muttered to herself. In her opinion, it should have been called a tropical storm, but the weather men said that it was only so big because of how the two storms clashed. And it was still very wet out. "Be back in a sec." She slid open their house's glass back door.

They lived on the very edge of C.S., on a lake house. But, instead of being on a lake, it was on the ocean. Sokka made cracks about their house all of the time, but only him and his dad thought that they were funny. They did pretty much have the same kind of humor, after all.

Katara grabbed the next the was on the edge of their deck/dock. There were several big holes in it.

"Dad?" Katara asked as she went back inside. Just in time, too, because it started raining almost as soon as she shut the door. "There are some really big holes in this net, are you sure that you want to use it?"

Katara's father turned around to look at the ruined net. "Oh no," He laughed. "That's for your brother's room; He wanted to hang it from his ceiling to give it a homey feeling."

"What? That's ridiculous." Katara stated as she climbed the wooden stairs to Sokka's room.

Hakoda's house was basically a very large cabin. There were pelts on the floors and walls, as well as mounted animals on the walls. Fishing was a big part of almost everyone's lives in that house, except for maybe Katara, who didn't approve of the smell of the slimy fish. She worked very hard to keep everything in order at that house, and she never let anyone ruin that. Especially her father after a weekend-long fishing trip. He would stink the whole house up in a matter of seconds, so Katara always had a bath ready for him when he came home. Everyone agreed that She was irreplaceable at that house.

"Sokka? I've got that netting that dad said you wanted…" Katara's voice trailed off as she entered her brother's room.

Suki was sitting on the table and leaning extremely close to Sokka's face. They both jumped when they heard Sokka's sister's voice and turned to face her, both of their faces a million shades of pink.

"Oh. I'm sorry," Katara said, surprised. "Was I interrupting something?"

* * *

Aang sat at a bus stop, going through his phone's contact list. It had started raining not long after he had left the hangar, and he had found refuge here under the bus stop's blue roof. He desperately wanted to get together with someone, and get his mind off of Gyatso, so he was looking for someone to call.

_Sokka_

No, he was working on that project with Suki, which ruled her out, too.

_Haru_

…He didn't really feel like talking about hair.

_Ty Lee_

She was nice, unlike her friend, but she was _way_ to bubbly for Aang's mood right then…Besides, he had no clue how he had gotten her number.

_Jet_

Him and jet weren't really good friends at all, so he continued down the list.

_Yue_

She was nice, but he didn't really know her besides Sokka. Hanging out with her would have been a little weird.

…Aang continued down the list of people until he got to Toph and Katara. Toph was his best friend in the world, he could talk to her about almost anything. But she had been acting weird lately, and it really freaked him out when she had hugged him. And then Sokka had said something weird when Aang had told him about it. It all was just too weird, and it gave him a freaky feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Katara, on the other hand, had never changed, no matter how much he wanted her to. She never saw him as anything more than a little brother, and he knew that. But Aang really liked her, and kept trying anyways. She had had a problem with Toph at first, it seemed. Truthfully, he had hoped that it had been jealousy, but deep down he had known that it wasn't. Katara had later confessed to him that she thought that Toph was a bad influence in his life, which still made him smile. She probably was right, but Toph was fun to be around.

Finally, he made the decision to call Toph, and hang out with her. After all, her weirdness was probably only 'cause she was on he period-or Joey, as she always called it. She'd always say, _"Joey is here, so don't mess with me!"_ At first Aang didn't get it, and he had asked Sokka who Joey was. Sokka had just laughed and filled him in, and for the rest of the day, Aang felt weird being near Toph. I mean, he knew about periods, but it was different when he knew someone was on one.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Why in the world was he thinking about periods?! Especially Toph's!

Aang was about to press the button to call Toph, but someone called him first. It read "_Unavailable_".

"Huh." He was curious, so he answered it. "Hello?"

"Aang?"

Aang's jaw dropped open. Was this really...?!

"Gyatso!"

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** _Ohmygosh_, right?! I actually got a chapter up EARLY!! I think I'm going to faint!!  
Yeah, not a lot happened in this chapter, and not that much drama, but the period talk and stuff like that is why it's rated **T**!! Anayways, next chapter has the PARTY in it, as you can probably guess, and it's going to be **GREAT**!!  
Comment and tell me what you think!! What should I change, what do you like, and all that jazz!! Or just say hi, 'cause I love that too!!  
Cookies and comments, everybody!!


	5. Chapter 5: It's not Ok

Disclaimer: No, I don't own A:tLA.

* * *

**Chapter 5**

* * *

"Gyatso!" Aang shouted excitedly.

"Haha, yes Aang?" Came the old man's jolly reply.

"I-I can't believe it! You…You're alright!" Aang started tearing up. "Where are you?!" It suddenly occurred to him to ask.

"Why, I'm home, of course! I just came in."

"But…Why didn't you call?!" Aang bolted in the direction of home, not caring anymore if he got wet.

"Well, to tell you the truth, I did run into a problem or two."

Aang's mind suddenly thought of the worst, thoughts swirling and spinning. He almost ran into a jogger, his thoughts were only on one thing. Gyatso was his father. Not by blood, but by actions. He was his family, and he had thought that the old man had gotten hurt. Aang would never have forgiven himself if anything had happened to him. He didn't even want to think about it.

"What happened?!" Aang demanded fearfully.

"Oh, nothing That bad, my boy. I'll tell you when you get back…By the way, where are you?" Aang couldn't tell if Gyatso was really telling the truth, or if he was trying to change the subject.

"I'm almost home."

"You're not on that board thingy of yours, now are you? I'm telling you that one day you'll end up getting hurt."

Aang almost wanted to laugh. Almost. "No, Gyatso, I'm not on my skateboard."

"Oh, well good." Aang heard some distant clanging on the other end of the phone.

"See you in a bit." Aang said, getting slightly out of breath. He was an active boy, but sprinting all of the way home strained him.

"Good bye." Gyatso replied warmly.

"Bye." Aang hung up. It was only another block or two away, his house. He would be there in another two minutes, one if he really pushed. And he did.

So much for hanging out with friends.

* * *

"Gyatso!" Aang called as soon as he got back, soaked to the bone. He knew the old man would scold him for being in the rain, saying that he'd catch a cold, but Aang didn't care. He had thought that Gyatso was maybe dead a few minutes ago. A scolding wouldn't stop him now.

"Aang? Why are you soaking wet?" Gyatso demanded as he came out from his room.

"Gyatso!" Aang ran to the elder and hugged him with all of his might.

"Woah, easy there, son!" Gyatso chuckled, hugging him back. "These old bones can't take that much!"

"Ah…Sorry." Aang let go of his adopted father. "But…What happened to you?! Why did you go out yesterday when there was a storm coming?!"

"I…Didn't remember the weather report." The old man admitted, ashamed.

"You…Didn't?"

Aang was bewildered, and slightly scared. Gyatso, despite his old age, had always had an excellent memory. This made no sense to him at all.

"Why not?"

"Aang, you're going to need to take a seat, my boy." Gyatso patted Aang's shoulder tiredly.

"O-ok…" Aang sat down in the nearest chair, and waited for Gyatso to tell him what was wrong. He watched as his dad lowered himself into a chair next to him. Aang couldn't believe that he had been worried about anything else in his life, nothing seemed so important. And he didn't even know what it was, yet. But he could tell from Gyatso's eyes that it wasn't good.

"Aang," The teen could feel his heart about to burst out of his chest, it was beating so hard. "A while ago, when you were gone for the weekend with your friends, I met with a man. A doctor, actually." Aang didn't know what that had anything to do with anything…Except… "He told me that I have Alzheimer's."

…

Aang couldn't tell if he was breathing anymore. It wasn't like in all the movies, where the main star gets tunnel vision. No, it wasn't like that, but it wasn't un-theatrical, either. His head spun, a thousand tiny voices screaming this or that. He felt like he wasn't sitting, he felt like he was falling. But he knew he was seated. His vision blurred. Tears. Hot, wet, salty tears that burned his eyes, and stained his cheeks. Was he dreaming? Crying had never hurt before. Nothing had hurt this much before. Nothing.

"Son…Are you…Ok?" He put a withered old hand on Aang's knee, who was still in a daze.

Gyatso's hand had started to shake Aang out of his spiraling reverie, but he only became more aware of the painful tears.

"You…You're not…Going to _die_, right?"

Aang's voice reminded Gyatso of when he had first gone on one of his errands, leaving a five-years-old Aang by himself with a babysitter.

"_You're not going away…Are you, Daddy?"_ Aang sounded like that now.

"I'm afraid I am." Gyatso said calmly, his own experienced eyes watering up at the sight of Aang's petrified face.

Aang didn't know what to say. Gyatso was going to die, and now they both knew it. He was going to die a horrible death! How long would Gyatso still remember his son? How far down was it? What would happen to G.A.S.? And even worse, what would happen to him?! Aang would have given anything for Gyatso at that moment, even if it had been his own life; He only wanted Gyatso to live.

"now, Aang…" Gyatso's voice trailed off, trying to find the right words. He finally settled on "It's going to be ok."

"No, it's not." Aang muttered, and ran into his room, slamming the door so loud that it felt as if the entire house rang with the echoes.

* * *

Mai reclined in one of Azula's scarlet plush couches. She had a bowl of salted peanuts in one hand, and was picking her teeth with the other. Azula's whole party both annoyed and bored her. The note that she had crumpled up in her pocket told her to bring a date, but the date that she wanted to bring would _not_ sit well with the birthday girl.

"Hmmm….Maybe Haru, I love his hair!" Ty lee read the names off of her list of cute guys. Every time she met a cute boy, he went on the list.

"Isn't he gay?" Mai didn't really care, but asked anyway.

"No! If he was, he wouldn't be on my list!" The bubbly girl clung to her list, holding it close to her chest.

The dark girl shrugged and tossed a small peanut into her mouth, and chewed it loudly.

Azula, being as keen as ever, stopped brushing her long, raven black hair and spun around to face her cohort.

"Who are you taking, Mai?" Azula asked with a smirk and in a bitter sweet voice, a voice that she usually reserved for the people she interrogated.

Mai kept her cool, though. One benefit of hanging out with the she-devil herself was that you kind of work up an immunity to her. Sort of.

"I don't really care." She sighed, looking away. Maybe she would buy it, maybe she wouldn't. It didn't matter.

"Come on, Mai, tell us!" Ty lee jumped up and down on the couch, next to Mai. Her list lay on the ground, temporarily forgotten.

"I thought that I'd invite your brother." Mai dared not say his name.

Azula's smirk spread into a wide grin. It truly scared everything and one who saw it, including her two best friends. "That's what I thought. Glad to know my assumptions were correct."

"Uh, you're always right, Azula!" Ty lee said, with a forced smile on her face.

Azula, obviously pleased, spun back around towards her vanity mirror. " I know."

She continued brushing her thick, perfect hair, pausing at the end of each stroke for a second, as if deep in thought. Mai continued to look away, trying not to care. Ty lee Held her breath, and slowly reached for her list again. She dared not say a word, in fear that Azula's strange peace be disturbed and have their friend explode at them.

"…Well, why are you still here? Go demand my disappointment of a brother to the party. He's not invited, but I'll make an exception. You deserve him." She said, not turning around. Ty lee smiled and nudged Mai, obviously not getting the not-so-hidden insult.

"Great. Thanks." Mai yawned in her monotone voice.

Azula paused, then grabbed her cell phone and threw it in Mai's direction. "Just call him." She growled.

* * *

"SOKKA! YOU _BETTER_ BE STUDYING!" Katara paused washing to the dishes to yell at her older brother.

"…I _am_ studying!" Came the muffled reply from up the stairs.

"Then _why_ do I hear _music_?!"

"…It's not me! It's your cell-phone!"

Katara rolled her eyes. True, she did always have a song ringtone, but she was pretty certain that that wasn't one of them. "Really? Then who's calling?" She asked skeptically, trying to catch Sokka in a lie.

"Uh…_Jet_?!" Sokka's voice suddenly sounded less muffled, and she heard the pound of his feet coming down their creaking stairs. That was both the best and worst thing about their house, you could always hear them coming. Sokka burst into the large kitchen, Katara's blue bejeweled cell-phone in hand. And, sure enough, it was ringing. Jet was calling. "Why is _he_ calling you?!" Sokka demanded in that unmistakable big-brother voice.

"Gimme that!" Katara launched herself at her phone, forgetting her dirty, mashed potato-covered dishes.

"Whoa, Hey!" Sokka cried out, falling over as Katara yanked her cell-phone out of his hands. His arms flailed wildly as he tipped backwards, causing several bowls that had been on the counter to crash. "You're cleaning that up." Katara stated simply, before answering Jet's call.

"Hello?" She asked in a sing-songy voice. "Oh, hi Jet."

Sokka got up, rubbing his back, and picked up the now shattered decorated clay bowls. He winced. Katara obviously hadn't noticed that the bowls broke when they hit the ground, and maybe he could get out of being yelled at. He carefully picked up each piece and dropped it into the trashcan. He was still suspicious about Jet calling Katara, but he was thankful to some degree about Katara's undivided attention to him.

"…No, I'm not doing anything tonight." Katara twirled a lock of hair around her finger.

"…Oh you do?" She bit her lip and crossed her fingers.

"…Of course! I-I mean, Sure!" Katara's hand pumped the air.

Sokka's head jerked up from the broken pieces of pottery. Jet did not just ask what he though he asked. There was _no way_ he was going to let Katara-

"Ok, Sure." Katara giggled.

Sokka's eye twitched.

"…Ok, see you at 7:30, then…Bye." The tan girl pressed the 'end' button on her phone. "Sokka! Jet just asked me to go out with him tonight!" She jumped up-and-down in a very uncharacteristic way.

"No way, Katara! Dad just left an hour ago, and he said that I was in charge! And I'm not going to let you go out with some…Some…_Playboy_!" Sokka's voice rose considerably.

"Sokka, you may be in charge, but I get to decide who I go out with." Katara said, barely keeping her anger controlled. She was not going to let her borther's rivalry with Jet stop her going on a date with him.

"Katara-!" Sokka yelled. "Dad has his cell-phone! Let's call him and see what he has to say about it!"

"Fine!"

Katara sat on the couch, watching as her brother paced back-and-forth, on the phone with their father. Hakoda usually let her go out with anyone she wanted, as long as he didn't have a criminal record. Sokka was very open about his dislike of the football player that had asked her out, but she wasn't sure where her dad stood in the matter. So all she did was sit, watch, pray, and silently scream at the clock to shut up with the obnoxious ticking.

"…Here. Dad wants to talk to you." Sokka's face was emotionless as he handed the house phone to her.

Katara grabbed the phone and brought it to her ear. "…Hi, dad." She said, unsure.

"_Katara, listen to me. Sokka doesn't like Jet, I know. He's been telling me about him, but I want to hear your side of it."_

Katara was very grateful for her father's un-judgmental style. She told him about Jet, and that even though she didn't see him much, she still liked him a lot. Obviously.

"_Hmm…I see. Let me talk to your brother again."_

"Sokka…Dad wants to talk to you." Katara held out the phone for him to take.

"Yeah, Dad?!"

Katara was back at where she had started. Waiting, and watching. She glanced at the clock. It seemed to be haunting her. _'Only one more hour. You better hurry up.'_ It seemed to say with each tick. Katara felt her hand twitch.

"…Ok." Sokka handed the phone back to his little sister.

"_Katara, I know you like this boy. But, I don't feel comfortable with letting you go out the a boy who-if Sokka is right-has had so many _other_ girlfriends."_

Katara's eyebrows furrowed. "But, Dad!" She cried in a high-pitched perfect angel daughter voice.

"_No buts. Help your brother study. Goodbye, I love you."_

Katara just smashed the phone back down on it's hook.

Sokka's face glowed. "Ha. Told ya."

Katara turned towards him in a flash. "You. Just. Go. Study!"

Katara looked at herself in her bathroom mirror. Her hair had been straightened, causing her naturally poofy hair to look even longer than it usually did. She had make-up on, but made sure that it looked natural. Her long polished nails were painted a sky blue. She had on jean shorts that would have had Sokka flipping out if he saw her in them, and a white tube top. High-healed black flats were on her feet, and she slipped on a few bangles on one arm. She had decided to leave her mother's necklace behind, since she didn't want it to get lost. But to replace it, she draped a long, silver chain over her neck. It had a large green and orange butterfly charm hanging off of it.

Perfect.

Now she only needed to sneak past Her brother. But, since he was in his room studying, she was sure that it wouldn't be a problem. She slipped on a long cream-colored trench coat however, just in case she was caught. Her brother had a cow if she wore a skirt that stopped below the knees, and she was perfectly sure that he'd have a planet if he saw her in shorts that stopped right below her butt.

She opened her door, and snuck down the hallway, keeping to the walls to minimize the creaking in the floor.

'_5 steps…4 steps…3 steps…2 steps…1 step…'_ She counted down how close she was to the stairs.

"Katara?" Sokka had opened his door.

"Sokka!" Katara jumped, twirling around.

"Why are you in a trench coat?" He asked, scratching his scalp.

"Uh…I was about to go out and…Get some groceries! We're out of milk, and I'd thought that I'd get some supplies to bake a cake for when dad gets home." Katara forced a grin. She _never_ lied, and it scared her at how fast she had come up with one.

"Oh…Ok, have fun." Sokka looked bored, and headed into the kitchen. He grabbed the big bag of M &M's, expecting to hear some great speech about how he shouldn't have candy after 5 in the afternoon. But no speech came.

"Well…Bye." Katara waved awkwardly, backing towards the door. She hadn't even noticed the large candy bag.

"…Bye." Sokka rolled his eyes. His sister was _so weird_ sometimes.

Once she felt the door knob under her palm, she opened the door and spun outside before quickly shutting it. This time, her grin was real. She had out-smarted Sokka. But, now that she thought of it, that didn't take much to do.

"Hey." Jet's red convertible pulled up, as if right on cue. "Ready for the party?" Katara smiled sweetly and slid into the passenger seat.

"Of Course."

* * *

Azula watched as Mai waited anciously for her date-And Azula's brother-Zuko. In some ways she couldn't believe that Mai had fallen for the baby. He wasn't as good as her, and he never would be. It was oh so very pathetic.

Azula sighed. _'Oh well, I guess he was the best that she could get.'_

Mai had never been like Azula, or even Ty lee for that matter. The two girls could have the whole school swisted around their finger if they wanted to. Ty lee just didn't think about it, and Azula had bigger plans in mind. Mai never wanted anything, never did anything, and she could tell that Zuko wasn't exactly sure if he even liked her. She didn't mention it to her friend, though. She'd save that piece of info for later, when she might need it.

Azula glanced around the large room that her birthday party was being held in. red streamers, red chairs, red lights, red punch. She didn't plan on even touching the last one, however, she had spiked the punch herself and she wanted to stay sober for at least the first part of the night.

Ty lee, however, wasn't that smart.

"Oooh, this is soooooo good!" Ty lee giggled, a cup of punch in her hand. She had on a pink mini shirt, pink heels, pink jewelry, and a pink shirt. It hurt Azula's eyes to just look at her.

"I'm glad you like it." Azula calmly replied. She'd have to stay away from her once she was drunk, which she would be by the time the party actually started.

"When is this going to get interesting?" Mai windered boredly. She ws leaning on the bar that Azula's father had put in just for her. Everyone at this party would pretty much be under-age, but getting people drunk and digging up precious dirt was more than half the fun.

"Oh, look! Everyone's here!" Ty lee glanced out door, for there were no windows.

A group of people, maybe twenty or so, had just arrived. Azula smiled.

Her party was going to be _so_ much fun.

* * *

**Author's note:** _Ok, so I am SOOOOO sorry for the delay, my laptop was all messed up, and of course that's what I am writing AU on. But it's fixed now!! XD_

_Meh, so I lied about the party being in the next chapter, the BEGINNING of the party was here!!_

_Reviewing is very nice, and the more reviews I get, the faster I update!!_


	6. Chapter 6: My mother's ring

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing.

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Jet's convertible pulled smoothly into a stop on the ride of the road, next to a dozen other cars. Katara smiled at him and was about to climb out, but he shouted, "Hold on!"

Katara watched as he jumped out of his own side and ran over to her door, opening it like a gentleman. "Here you are, miss." He bowed at the waist with a playful smirk.

"Why, thank you, my good sir." She laughed, getting out of the vehicle. She was about to walk towards the party, but the fact that she was wearing a long trench coat suddenly occurred to her. "Oh," she ran took off the coat and threw it into Jet's car. "There we go." She spun around back towards Jet. "…What?"

Jet's face was even redder than a tomato, Katara was sure of it. He looked her up and down. "You look…Uh…Nice." He loosened his collar nervously.

Katara laughed. "Come on, Jet, let's go inside."

"Yeah," He agreed. "Yeah, ok. Let's go inside."

Katara was overwhelmed by the sounds and colors of the party. Well, it was mostly one color: Red. Red carpets. Red walls. Red flashing lights. Even red punch. It was all so red, and it was giving her a slight head-ache. It wasn't that she had anything wrong with the color, but such a harsh color in so many places was enough to make her head spin. It seemed like the only things that weren't red were the party guests. And even some of them wore red.

Also, it was the music. It wasn't anything like she had heard before, and she was sure of it. It was pulsing, and vibrant, and harsh. Like the red, only bombarding her eardrums from all sides. Someone might have been singing, but she couldn't tell. It was all so weird.

"You ok?" Jet's voice pulled her out of her strange reverie.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" She smiled, blinking several times.

"Do you want to dance?" He asked, already leading her to the _very_ crowded dance floor. She laughed. "Of course."

Azula watched as the couple moved to the dance floor, and disappeared in the middle of the crowd. A sly smirk painted its way across her lips. "Ty lee," She got her friend's attention.

"Yes, Azula?" Ty lee giggled, obviously flirting with some guy.

"I think I found something fun to do." She stood at the edge of the crowd, and started dancing her way towards the couple. The girl, Katara was her name she thought, her head wasn't visible, but Jet, the boy, he was tall and she had no problem finding his shaggy hair. Since it was so crowded, everyone was shifting, constantly moving everywhere. But that didn't really make it hard for Azula. She finally got to where she was next to them, but she was next to the girl, not the boy. It seemed like every time she tried to move in front of her, the girl would block her way.

Maybe she knew what she was up to.

She finally went around some other people, trying yet again to get to Jet, who for some reason decided to take the teacher's pet. Azula was way cuter than she was, her skin smoother, her hair shinier, and her body more shapely. And she used all of those things to her advantage, moving right behind him, and making it known that she was there.

"Hey," She purred, dancing next to him. He looked to his right in surprise, and as if on cue, a couple moved in front of Katara, blocking her from his view. Azula loved when things worked for her, and they _always_ did.

"Uh…Hi." He smiled.

"Dance with me?" she put her hand on his arm and moved in front of him. She was so very glad that she had taken those dancing lessons from Ty lee, and had learned how to move in an almost irresistible way.

"But…Uh, I have a date." He protested, but continued to dance with her.

"Oh, come on, I'm the birthday girl," She purred again, "Consider this my birthday present."

"Well, I mean…" His voice trailed off, as if he was thinking about it. He obviously liked the way she was dancing. "…I really shouldn't. I've got a date-…" His eyes lifted up. "…Who's currently talking to your friend."

Azula smirked. _'Thank you, Ty lee.' _"Then you can dance." She decided, ending the conversation.

* * *

"Zuko, you should really get going if you want to get to the party on time." Iroh called from the kitchen of their apartment above the restaurant. It almost seemed like it was Zuko's place, and not his uncle's, since the old man stayed in the kitchen so much. Then again, it also seemed almost like an empty apartment, since Zuko usually stayed in his room when he was at home. It wasn't like there was anything better to do.

Zuko had been holding a delicate golden ring between his thumb and forefinger, inspecting the square-shaped ruby in the middle. It had been his mother's, but it wasn't her wedding ring. Come to think of it, he didn't really actually know where she had gotten it, only that she had had it since long before she had Zuko. He always kept it in his pocket, and occasionally took it out of his pocket to inspect it as he thought. Usually about things he wished he had his mom there with him to discuss.

He grunted in response to his uncle and stuffed the ring into his jacket pocket. "Fine."

He shuffled towards the door, but paused for a moment to glance at himself in the mirror.

His hair was a bit disheveled, but besides that, he looked ok. Or so he thought.

"Why on earth are you going like that?! You have a date!" Iroh's face was all puffed up as he stood in the doorway to the kitchen.

"uncle, I don't really care." Zuko opened the door to the stairs that would take him to the back room and out into the street.

"…Very well, my nephew, but if the young girl does not appreciate your appearance, then you cannot blame me."

"Ok." He grumbled, not really caring. "Bye."

Once he got on the crowded street, his mood lightened considerably. He liked how no one knew him, and how he didn't have to deal with anyone wanting to talk to him when he waned to think. That annoyed him to no end when someone did that.

The party was only a few blocks down, and the cars were lined up all the way to his Uncle's restaurant. He rolled his eyes. Figures Azula would have anyone and everyone that she could manipulate, which was almost everyone at school. He was so glad that this was his last year. Then he'd be rid of the hell-spawn forever.

That thought made him smile.

The streets were dark, but it really wasn't hard to figure out which building the party was in. He wasn't sure how Azula had gotten permission to use the place, but he suspected that his father had something to do with it.

As soon as he stepped into the party, his senses were attacked by Azula's signature blood red color everywhere, and some of her favorite music blasting through the speakers. He vaguely remembered her saying something about the sound soothing her.

And, suddenly, he wasn't feeling as good and his smile was gone.

* * *

Katara barely managed to keep up with Ty lee's continuous chatter, and that was only half because she obnoxious music drowned out any an all sounds. And it gave her a constant throbbing in the back of her skull. When she had mentioned something about her ache, Ty lee had gotten her a cup of punch, and hiccupped when claiming that it was the best thing that she'd ever tasted. Katara seriously doubted that, but she took a small sip anyway.

It tasted like a mixture of citrus and watermelon, with a strange acidy flavor. It made her eyes water at first, but by the forth sip, it tasted really good.

"How many have you had?" She asked the giggling girl suddenly.

"uh…." Ty lee hiccupped. "About…..eight." She answered proudly, laughing her head off.

She was about to suggest that Ty lee sit down when a dark spot caught her out of the corner of her eye. Zuko. She wasn't sure if she wanted to go up to him at this place, however. And then that Mai girl appeared by his side, not looking like she had been waiting, but obviously she was his date. Katara's lips pursed, and her brows furrowed.

Ty lee noticed and turned to where her line of sight was. "ohhhh…" She said smugly, as if she had just figured out some big secret.

"What?"

"You _like_ him, don't you?!" Ty lee squealed, nudging her in the ribs.

"Wha-?! No, ew!" Katara waved her hands in front of her, as if blocking the suggestion. "I'm just…Trying to be his friend." She demanded. She had never even thought about it that way, and she was sure that he hadn't, either.

"Oh, come on! I saw the green in your eyes when you saw Mai with him!"

"What, I don' even know what that means!" She exclaimed.

"You were _jealous_." Ty lee put extra emphasis on the last part. Her huge grin lessened slightly when she turned back towards the gloomy couple, though. "Mai really likes him, though." She said to no one particular.

"…Does she?" Katara wondered, taking another sip of her punch. It was surprising good at taking away the throbbing, but she could start to feel a certain fuzziness come over her.

"Yeah," Ty lee nodded, for once serious. "But I don't think that Azula will let them be together."

"Why not?"

"She hates him. Zuko, I mean. Mostly because he stands up to her. She thinks that he's going to be a bad influence on Mai, and maybe she'll start standing up to her, too." Ty lee stated matter-of-factly.

Katara could only say "Oh."

It was weird, the walls in the pulsing room almost started shifting, like the red that covered the walls were made out of bugs, always moving to go somewhere else. But strangely, Katara didn't mind. The thought had earlier crossed her mind that the punch might have been spiked, but she didn't really care at this point. It felt good.

"Hey, Ty lee, how about another cup of punch?"

"Hehe, sure!"

* * *

Zuko spied Katara almost as soon as he walked in the door. Mai had, thankfully, come up to him, so Katara didn't come over. She had a very strange habit of staying clear of him while he was with Mai. He wasn't sure she had even wanted to talk to him, though, by the look on her face. She had just been inspecting him. That was, she had been until Azula's other minion pulled her out of it. He almost cracked another smile at how distorted her face looked. Ty lee had obviously said something repulsive to her.

Mai and him sat on one of the many red couches, and just stared. She was leaning on him, but he didn't really care one way or the other. He was just bored.

He found himself fiddling with his mother's ring yet again, and quickly put it back. He never liked to have it out in public.

It felt like hours before he moved a muscle. His entire body had fallen asleep, it seemed.

"I need some fresh air." He stated simply, leaving Mai to her gloominess.

He stepped outside, in the back. The music was surprisingly very muffled out back. Well, more so than it the front, at least. But maybe it had something to do with the massive brick wall.

He sat on a sidewalk and stared up at the sky, which was cloudy, and with the city lights, not so dark for late at night.

Zuko glanced at his watch, wondering what time it actually was. His watch read _'2:30 A.M.'_. He really didn't want to be out anymore, but he felt he should at least inform his date that he was leaving. Iroh had at least taught him some respect.

The music seemed ten times louder than it had originally been when he went back inside, trying to spot Mai. He could hardly see anything, though, and figured that he'd just leave and apologize the next day. He was too tired to even look to hard. He headed toward the front door, intent on getting out, but of course, someone interrupted that.

"Zuko!" Katara giggled, running over to him, and grabbing his arm like she was some good friend of his. "What'da doin' here?!" She hiccupped. Zuko turned his face away quickly; her breath smelled like punch and alcohol. She jumped up and down. "How 'bout ya dance with meh!" She stopped jumping and held her head, like she had rocked her brain too much.

"You're drunk." Zuko stated simply. "Go home."

The girl let out a laugh. "I am home silly! I am home here, home there, I. Am. Home!" She grinned, hiccupping again.

Zuko freed his arm. "Listen, you're not home, you're at a party. So just get whoever took you here to take you back home. Where you live."

"I'm living right now!" She giggled, swaying.

Zuko ran a hand over his eyes. He didn't think that Katara was the kind of girl to get herself drunk, but obviously he thought wrong. "You know what, fine. I'm going home, and you can just…Stay." He turned around and went through the front door, and started walking towards home. But he grimaced when he felt a tug on his jacket, and turned around to see none other than Katara herself. Again.

"I don't know where I am, or where home is, and I'm not even sure I'm breathing right now!" Katara swayed and hiccupped frantically, obviously disoriented.

Zuko sighed irritably. "You're breathing." He stated firmly.

She didn't even sound like she heard him. "I've got to go home, I forgot the milk!" Her eyes suddenly widened and she kneeled over, puking up who-knows-what.

He cringed. "Fine. Where do you live?" He asked, pulling her up after she was done puking.

"Uh…Home!" She giggled, all signs of panic gone.

He rolled his eyes. "Right."

* * *

Gyatso had gone to sleep, but Aang couldn't. He couldn't get the fact that Gyatso was going to die out of his mind. It was there, and it filled his room; worry, doubt, sadness, anger, and exhaustion. It wouldn't go away.

It was the middle of the night, and he had to go with Gyatso all day tomorrow. He wasn't going to leave him again, with everything that had happened. Or was happening.

Suddenly, he spotted movement out of his window, homing towards his house. Who on earth would be coming to visit as three in the morning?!

He jumped up and ran for the door. If they were coming to visit, he didn't want them to wake Gyatso up. And if they weren't…Aang would figure something out.

Aang recognized the duo coming towards the front door, though. It was…Zuko and Katara?! That made no sense, Zuko really didn't like Katara, and Katara wasn't ever out this late at night. Ever. Plus, she was swaying around, and stumbling everywhere. Aang could tell that this wasn't good. He swung open the front/back door and approached them with worry etched on his face.

"What the heck did you do to her?!" He demanded of Zuko as he watched Katara bend down to smell some roses, but loose her balance and fall onto the pavement.

"I didn't do anything!" Zuko defended himself, crossing his arms angrily in front of his chest. The _last_ thing he needed was some kid thinking that he was the one who had gotten her drunk. He wasn't that stupid.

Aang eyed him suspiciously, but accepted his claim. "So then…Why'd you come here?!" He demanded.

"Because she wanted to go home, and demanded that I take her there, but I don't a clue where that is! So I figured that since you're her boyfriend, that you'd help." Zuko explained, not stopping for air.

"Oh." Aang said. He liked how Zuko thought that Katara was his girlfriend. Maybe others thought that, too. Maybe Katara had started the rumor herself. But, no that wasn't like her. She'd talk to him first…maybe she wanted him to find out this way. Maybe she was going to tell him, maybe-

"Uh, hello? I need help." Zuko growled, obviously not liking the idea.

"Uh, right. Her house isn't very far, I'll help you." Thankfully, he hadn't cared enough to change out of his everyday clothes, so he wasn't in his underwear.

"Right." He said, and flinched as Katara leaned against him and started singing some random song about a dog and two mermaids very off tune. Zuko waved his hand infront of his nose, indicating that she had very bad breath.

"Well, let's get going."

* * *

"Ok, her house is at the end of this block." Aang pointed to the log cabin next to a small dock.

Zuko paused for a second. "That's where she lives?" He asked, obviously expecting something…Else.

Aang turned towards him with a simple "Yes." He didn't like that Katara had wanted Zuko to take him home and not him. He didn't even know how she got drunk. When he asked about it, Zuko only shrugged.

"I don't know." He stated simply.

Aang rolled his eyes, not believing a word. "Right." He stopped. "You stay here, and make sure Katara doesn't run off, I'm going to get Sokka, and hopefully do some damage control."

Zuko looked slightly confused.

"Sokka's her brother." Aang clarified, rolling his eyes.

Zuko nodded, and grabbed Katara by the elbow when she wanted to go pee In the yard of some random person across the street.

"But they've got a toilet right there!" She pointed to a toilet that someone had used as decoration and had stuck plastic flowers in. Zuko just rolled his eyes and told her to sit down on a bench close to them.

"I'm cold!" She giggled, gently yanking on his jacket as he sat down. "Pleeaaaassseee?" She bent over at the waist, as if trying to get a better look at him.

"Please what?" Zuko growled.

She laughed that laugh that had started getting very annoying by the third time hearing it. "Please give me your nice coat, silly! I left mine…At home! I've got to go home!" She jumped up and down.

Zuko placed a firm hand on her shoulder and tore off his jacket, throwing it in her face. "There, just don't puke on it, and don't be loud. We could both get in trouble. You're under age." That had just thought of that. "Great." He muttered to himself, running a hand over his eyes yet again.

Katara shut up, thankfully, and calmed down considerably. She yawned, and leaned her head on Zuko's stiff shoulder, which he didn't like too much. "I think you're going along well." She muttered, but he wasn't sure if it was to him.

"What?" He asked, too awkward to try and pry her off of his shoulder. She just smiled and grabbed his arm, burying her face into his sleeve.

"Uh…Don't fall asleep." He said, trying to be nice as he tried to gently pull her upright. He turned his head quickly, trying to hide the growing pink on his face and ears. Unforuntaely, that meant that he missed it when she stuck her hands into the pockets, or when she pulled them out to reveal a golden ring that, Katara discovored, happened to be just her size. She slipped on her finger and giggled quietly. It looked pretty.

Just then, Aang and a very distraunt Sokka came running up. "Where is she?!" He demanded loudly.

"Big brother!" Katara dashed up and threw off Zuko's jacket, flinging herself into her angry brother's arms.

"She is drunk!" He shouted after he got a wiff of her breath.

"You two are so dead! I'm never letting her near you again!" He shouted at both of them, but his finger was pointed at Zuko. All three of them knew which of them was getting most-if not all-of the blame.

"Sokka, you're really loud!" Katara laughed, then yawned.

"You're going to sleep. Now." Sokka demanded and let his baby sister to the safety of their own home, leaving two teenage boys staring, dumbfounded.

"Sleep." Sokka commanded once they were in Katara's room. She gladly complied, and collapsed on her bed. "Oh, this is comfy. Whose is it?"

Sokka just rolled his eyes and let her sleep.

No one had noticed that the little Golden ring was still on her finger, the ruby glowing it the moonlight.

**Ok, I'm going to be gone for a while, so I rushed this. I hope you guys like it!! DOn't worry, I'll still be writing every chance that I get, but I'm leaving in two minutes so, sorry if it was all very rushed.  
Reviewing is very nice, and I love it!! You'll get a cookie!!**


	7. Chapter 7: Black Fingers

**Chapter 7**

The bright morning light shone through two big windows, lighting up the calm room. The walls were light blue, but with a hint of silver, and along with the cream sheets, pillows, and chairs, the whole room had a certain dream feeling. Everything was perfect, as usual. Until, that is, Katara woke up. Then, the dream feeling went away, replaced with a pounding in her head. It was like an old war drum pounding against her skull, reminding her that, not only was she awake, but that she was going to be miserable for the rest of the day.

"Wha-…Ooh, my head…" Katara held her pounding forehead, as if trying to ease the pain. For a moment, she didn't remember anything, only the drums going off inside her skull. Then if came flooding back to her, in a wave that made her head-ache even worse. If she didn't have the pain, she would have banged her head against her bed's head-post in frustration.

"I did not…I can't believe I was that stupid!" She scowled at herself.

"Oh, really? 'Cause, you know, that's what _I_ thought at first." Katara was suddenly painfully aware of her older brother standing in the doorway, arms crossed, and a scowl on his face. It looked like he hadn't left her door all night. "Until you showed me that I was wrong."

She leaned her head back against her pillow everything was so loud, and so bright. It hurt really bad. "Sokka…" She moaned, annoyed.

"Uh-huh! Don't you _'Sokka'_ me!" He pushed off of the door frame and stalked into her room. It almost seemed like he carried a big cloud over-head as he came by her bed, he was so grumpy.

"I didn't mean-I didn't know-!" She tried to defend herself several times, but couldn't finish any of her sentences.

"That's not the point! Well, it _is_, but it's not the only point! You _lied_ to me! You snuck out-wearing _that_-and you _lied_ to me! And I believed you! But, why _wouldn't_ I believe you, you've never done this _before_! Dad's going to be _so_ mad! _I'm_ so mad! Why did you sneak off?! Who'd you go with, huh? Why'd you get yourself _drunk_?! And, _why_ on God's green earth did you come back with Aang and-even _worse_-_Zuko_?!" Sokka finally ended his rant because even he needed to breath.

"I didn't-…_Aang and Zuko_?" She asked, confused. "Why did I come back with them?" It was clear that she didn't remember much of last night.

"Y-You don't remember?!" Sokka started hyperventilating, shouting something about how he was going to kill them-but especially Zuko-if either one of them laid a dirty hormonal hand on his baby sister.

Katara, being completely ignored in Sokka's fit of rage, took the opportunity to get ready for the day.

She came out, and hour later, completely refreshed, and in modest straight-leg jeans and a white tank top. She looked good as new, except for the dark circles under her eyes from her hangover. She silently swore to never ever get drunk again; the consequences were way too painful.

"There you are!" Sokka shouted, shaking her shoulders. "I thought that you had run off again, how come I didn't know where you were?! And where _exactly_ were you?! Anywhere _I_ should know about?!" Sokka's mental state had obviously not gotten any better.

Katara shrugged off his hands. "Sokka, Get a grip. I was just in the bathroom, getting ready for the day. Jeeze." She rolled her eyes. "Oh, and could you be any more loud?!"

Katara stomped down the stairs, so she could get some breakfast, but was overwhelmed by the light that poured through the open windows. "Ah!" She covered her eyes and quickly pulled down the shade on each one. "That's better."

"Why is it so dark in here?!" Sokka demanded once he joined her downstairs. He went to let some more light in, but Katara stopped him.

"What do you think you're doing?" She blocked his way, arms on her hips.

"Letting some light in! What are you, a vampire?!" He tried to get past her, but she didn't let him. "You know what? Fine. Keep it insanely dark in here. Maybe it'll hide your shame."

Katara's face twisted into a questioning look. "What shame?" She asked, confused.

"The shame of being stupid enough to actually go out with a guy like Jet-and yeah, I know it was him. Who else would it have been?"

Katara decided to ignore her obnoxious brother and get something to eat out of the kitchen. She grabbed a frozen muffin out of their freezer and stuck it into the microwave for one minute. She used that minute to search the medicine cabinet. She was disappointed. How could they not have any pain killers? There was nothing…Except for ibuprofen! Katara wasn't really sure if it was going to work, but it worked wonders when she was on her period.

She grabbed the small bottle and got the muffin out of the microwave, then placed them both down on their bar, which had been cut out of one of the walls. She pulled up one of the stools and started to munch on her breakfast.

It just didn't make any sense. She had always made sure that there were all kinds of medicine in her medicine cabinet. Except for the last month or so, of course. She had been visiting her Gran-Gran's. But she didn't see how that could have been a problem.

She didn't let her mind dwell on it too much, though. The yummy orange and cranberry muffin required her full attention.

* * *

"Ugh! Where is it!"

Came the muffled cry of a desperate teenager from his bedroom. A crash was heard, and it better of not been Iroh's precious sea-shell lamp, coming from his nephew's room. Iroh had gone to bed around ten, so he didn't know what time Zuko had gotten back, but he did know that it was way too early to be up. It was ten o'clock for crying out loud! Way too early for a Sunday, Iroh had decided.

The old man groggily climbed out of his feathery bed and pulled on his soft slippers. "Nephew, why must you be up so early? It is Sunday, so why can you not be like other teenagers and rest for once?" He said as he entered the distraught teenager's room.

"It's not here." Zuko said, completely ignoring his uncle's last comment. He was flinging everything everywhere. Clothes, sheets, and books to name a few.

"What is not here?" Iroh was confused and tired, so only half of his attention was actually on Zuko. The other half was still sleeping.

It took a moment for him to answer, but when he did, his voice held panic, which was something that was _never_ in Zuko's tone of voice. "Mother's ring. The one she gave me. It's gone." Frustration took over the fear.

"Calm down, my boy. Where was it last?" Iroh yawned.

"In my jacket." He flung the article of clothing at his uncle, who caught it with his face.

"Zuko," Iroh said, pulling the black jacket off of his round face. "I'm sure that it'll come up, eventually. But now you need to get some sleep."

"Uncle, you don't understand!" He was trying to keep his frustration under check, but was failing pretty miserably. "It's my mother's ring! She gave it too me before she left! It's all I have of her!" Zuko had a way of making even a confection sound like an accusation.

Iroh didn't know what to suggest, except to look everywhere in the apartment. But he wasn't about to let that boy tear up the entire house-hold like he had just done with his room. That would be unacceptable.

"Calm down, nephew, and clean your room. Calmly, please. And when you're done, I'll help you look for the ring everywhere else here. Just, don't break anything else, please."

Zuko growled low. "Fine, uncle." He gave in.

Iroh smiled tiredly, pleased with himself. "Good. Tell me when you're done cleaning."

He turned and headed back to his room for more sleep. If he was lucky, his nephew would take his time and Iroh would get some at least thirty minutes of sleep before the teen would make him drag himself back to reality again.

Zuko watched as his uncle went back into his room and shut the door. He knew that he'd be sleeping. _'Lazy old man.'_ He thought angrily, but almost immediately regretted it. His uncle always helped him with his problems, and just because he was tired, he shouldn't blame his uncle for anything. He didn't deserve that.

His mind turned back to his missing ring, trying to remember where it was last. He had been holding it before he had gone to the party, then he had been fiddling with it while he was with Mai. After that, he didn't know what had happened to it. Maybe Mai had it…She could have seen it, and taken it. But, why would she do that? She wouldn't, as far as he knew. Would she? Maybe she would, if she was doing it for Azula. Of course! Azula. Maybe she had it, but how would she know that taking the ring would get under his skin? Did she even know about the ring?

He decided that it would probably just be best if he made his mind shut up and started cleaning.

* * *

Azula, Ty lee, and Mai sat all three in a row at the most expensive salon in C.S., getting their hair washed, a pedicure, and a manicure all at the same time. It was times like these when Ty lee was really happy about being Azula's friend…And getting all of the benefits.

"Last night was so fun!" She squealed contently, smiling at her two best friends.

"Last night was lame." Mai stated in her usual monotone voice. Ty lee was sure that if her nails weren't being done, she'd be picking at them.

"Oh Mai, you're such a spoil-sport." Azula smirked, entertainment etched across her perfect features. "I was glad when my brother left and took Jet's date with him." She let out, knowing that it would make Mai mad.

"…_Who_?" Mai asked, her trade-mark frown even deeper.

"Oh, I think it was that one really nice girl! Uh…Kitty…Karate..._Katherine_?" Ty lee wondered, trying to figure out the girl's name.

"Katara." Azula stated smugly.

Mai's lip twitched. "Oh."

"Yea, that's her name! I had a fun time with her, she was really funny! I think she liked Zuko a lot!" She added bubbly, before realizing her mistake. She was about to jerk her hand away from the petite woman who was carefully fixing her nails to cover her mouth, but managed to hold herself back.

Azula's eyebrow rose elegantly, in interest. "Oh, _does_ she now…" She said in that low, dangerous voice that meant she was thinking really hard.

"Well, I mean I was only teasing her! She just blushed when I said it! That's all…Of course, she was staring at him all evening, but I'm sure that meant _nothing_!" Ty lee had a strange urge to protect her new friend. She didn't want a nice girl like Katara to hate her. And she _really_ didn't want to get on Zuko's bad side.

"Too late." Mai murmured under her breath, not seeming _too_ upset that Azula was probably going to thoroughly embarrass Either Katara, Zuko, or both.

Azula's mind was reeling, trying to find a way to ruin both of their reputations, but her line of thought was suddenly interrupted by a sudden lurch in her stomach, but it went away after a moment.

"Azula?" Mai asked from Azula's right. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah," Ty lee agreed from Azula's right. "You seem kind of sick suddenly."

Azula felt fine again by the time that Ty lee had finished talking, so she laughed, trying to cover up her sudden paleness. "Oh, I just thought of the most perfect thing, is all." She grinned, her pearly whites flashing.

"Ok…But are you sure?" Ty lee asked, not all that convinced.

"Of course I am! Would I sound so worried about you?" Azula asked calmly, relaxing.

"…I guess not."

* * *

"Ok everybody! Into your places! And a one, and a two, and a one two three four!" Mr. Boring called from the edge of the stage, waving his arms in the air like a conductor might.

There were about twenty dancers on that large stage, all wearing tights, leotards, and leg warmers. It made Zuko's stomach do flips and he wanted to hurl. He couldn't believe that his uncle had gotten him into this crap.

And even worse, "Miss Blue" was right over there, walking backstage. Her brother was with her, following her everywhere, and not letting her out of his sight. But he refused to help her with things, Zuko noticed as she tried to get him to hang something on the other side of the room. He almost smiled, knowing that Katara's brother-Aang had said that his name was Sokka-wouldn't let her go over and bug him.

"Ah, you're here, good! Come over here boy, I have work for you." Mr. Boring interrupted his thoughts, beckoning him from over by the stage.

The way that he called Zuko 'Boy' was really getting on his nerves.

"It's Zuko." He growled when he got to the older man, showing his unhappiness at being there.

"Ok then, _Zuko_." Mr. Boring said. Somehow, it was even more annoying when he called him by his real name. "I've got some hammering work for you. You're going to help build a ship for-"

He was cut off by Zuko's hand. "I don't need to know what it's for." He said in a dangerous tone of voice.

Mr. Boring puffed up, obviously offended that someone wasn't interested in his artistic plans. "Very well." He huffed, aggravated. Just go pick up a hammer and start…hammering."

Zuko rolled his eyes and walked back-stage. The smell of old wood and fabric filled his nostrils, a testimony in itself as to how old the theater was. The theater seemed to be a very popular past-time, so it was always fully crowded, despite its lack of glamour. Come to think of it, Zuko didn't think that there even _was_ another theater in the whole city, but he was pretty sure that someone from one of the Twin cities had started it. People there only ever thought about fun and games; they never took anything seriously in Zuko's experience. And he was pretty sure that Mr. Boring was from there, too.

He found a group of five people working on what looked like a giant shell, but made out of wood…Sort of. The thing looked only half-finished, and had not painting or sanding done to it. It was just one rough half outline.

"Hey-ya here to help?" a rough looking girl shoved a hammer at him, as if he had already given his answer. "Start over there, on the side. The first nut-job who helped us didn't do _crap_ for the support, so fix that if ya _can_."

"Uh, ok." Zuko picked up a small can of nails off of the floor and moved around to the assigned area. He flinched. He had no idea how to hammer well, he had only done it once before-and it had resulted in four severely bruised fingers. Oh well, all he could do was try. And he was determined to do this job well, with how that girl had implied that he couldn't. What did she know, with all of the frizzy brown hair in her face?! He pushed the aggravating thought out of his mind as he picked up the first nail, set it into place, aimed the tool in his hands and…

* * *

"Shoot!"

A semi-distant cry came from the other side of the theater. This was the fifth in a row, and the last two had been curses. Somehow, Katara guessed that whoever was doing whatever it was that they were doing, they weren't doing a very good job.

"Katara, who are these people that you work with?!" Sokka demanded, as the person yelped for a sixth time.

Katara laughed. "I don't know who's shouting, Sokka. Now will you be nice and get me that roll of fabric over there on that chair by Mr. Boring? The purple one."

Katara was creating one of the gowns for when the little mermaid would be human. Personally, Katara had never cared for the tale; the classic had a very sad ending with the mermaid dying, but excepting that the man she loved didn't love her like she loved him. Heart breaking, really. At least, Katara assumed so. She didn't really have any experience in that area.

"Here you go." Sokka handed her the cheep fabric and stepped back as Katara spread it out on the floor and began to cut patterns out of it after she had placed paper outlines on top. The scissors that she had didn't cut very well, and it took a long time just to cut out one side of the torso, but she didn't care. She loved being able to do this, and always made new dresses for each play, even though some could be re-used. And they were kept in the very back room, in the storage room. There was a whole section that had only her dresses in them.

"Katara, is that going to be one of my dresses?!"

The volunteer seamstress turned to face a cheery new actress, Jin. Her hair was longer than Song's, and her talent just as good, so she had been chosen for the part of the mermaid. Katara was sure that that had disappointed Song, being one of their lead actresses, but she was in the role of the sea witch, and her short hair was perfect for the head piece that she'd have to wear.

"Yes, Jin, this is going to be one of them." She smiled and turned back around to finish her cutting.

"Oh, I love the color!" Jin leaned over, and both girls couldn't help but notice that Sokka had started drooling a bit. Then both girls realized why. Jin's shirt was low-cut and had almost everything hanging out, and even Katara had to admit that she was just a bit jealous of how much there was to hang out. But just a bit.

"Sokka!" Katara snapped at her brother, disgusted.

"What?!" He sounded like what he had probably been thinking about was perfectly natural and fine. But not to Katara.

"Restrain yourself!" His sister demanded, but Jin only giggled.

"See you later Katara!" She waved, then turned to Sokka. "Bye." She waved.

"…Bye…" Sokka waved back, looking ounce again like a fool. They both watched, one irritated, one infatuated, as Jin pranced away, saying hi to everybody.

"Gah!" That one cry came again. Katara was getting annoyed at that person, and was about to go tell them that they should stop whatever it was that they were doing. And Mr. Boring apparently thought that, too. He marched up the stairs and disappeared behind the curtain. She hoped that he would give the person a better job, one without health risks.

* * *

"Stop! Look at your fingers, dude! They're all black!" The obnoxious girl, Zuko had learned that her name was Smellerbee, waved her hands frantically. Zuko had been doing worse than the first helper, according to Smeller-whatever, and had managed to bruise almost every one of his ten fingers.

"Mr. Zuko!" Boring's shrill voice called out. "Stop at once! I need helpers, not self-mutilators!" He pulled Zuko to his feet. "Now go and soak your hands for a moment, then come back and I will give you a job less…dangerous!" He gave Zuko a push in the right direction then spun around on his heel, going back to dance rehearsal.

Zuko stared at his fingers, they all looked horrible. And they hurt enough to make Zuko want to cry. He really had no desire to go into the poorly cared for bathroom, but he did really want to run his fingers under cold water. He got there, used his remaining two ok fingers to open the door, then slammed it shut. He turned to water on, and stuck his fingers under the cooling flow. Every time that he got hurt, the wound seemed to radiate heat, and it had always felt good to run cold water over them. This time was no different.

When he was finally done, he left and searched-but not too hard-for Mr. Boring. He spotted Katara again, but this time she wasn't facing him and she was carrying a big bundle of purple fabric. He continued for a second, and then did a double take.

Was that his mother's ring?!

He had to get closer, and find out, even if that did mean having to talk to her. He walked swiftly in her direction, but stopped short when her brother came up behind her. He was sure that it was his ring. But how did she get it?! Had Azula given it to her? Had she stolen it? He decided that he really didn't care, that he just wanted it back.

She seemed to spot him as his mind was racing, and asked her brother to fetch her something from the other side of the theater. This was his chance to talk to her without any trouble, and he knew that she was giving it to him. But she seemed pretty intent on her work…

"Katara." He called and walked up to her.

She turned and a smiled spread across her heart-shaped face. "Zuko, hi."

"You have something that's mine." He was getting straight to the point. He just wanted the ring.

"Oh do I?" She asked, bewildered.

"Yeah, you do. So give it back." He said gruffly.

Katara suddenly didn't seem quite as friendly. "Give _what_ back Zuko? I don't even know what you're accusing me of stealing. I haven't taken _anything_ away from you."

"Yes, you have. I want the ring back _now_." He growled and jerked a finger at the ring on her finger.

"Oh, _this_?" Katara stared at the small ring that had fit so perfectly on my finger. "This is yours?"

"_Yes_, it's _mine_. So give it back."

"Hmm…_No_. Not yet."

"_What_?!" Zuko wanted to pull his hair out of his head and shake her until she got some common sense and burst into flames all at once. "Why _not_?!"

"Because you need to learn to be nicer!" She held her ground.

"Nicer? You want me to be _nicer_?!"

"Yes. I won't give this back until you start being nicer to me." She let her hands fall to her sides and held her head high. "It won't kill you."

"…Fine. Just give me to ring." He held out his hand. "Please." He muttered when she showed no signs of moving.

The seemed to satisfy her for then. She pulled the beautiful ring off of her finger, and was about to had it over to the exasperated teen, but paused. "So, you promise to be nicer?" She asked again, as if she needed reassurance that he'd actually live up his part of the bargain.

"…Yeah, I promise." He growled low. She was almost as bad as Azula.

She smiled happily. "Good." She gently placed the ring into his palm.

"…Thanks." He muttered, hopefully not loud enough to hear.

But, Katara had ears like a hawk, and heard his embarrassed thank you. "You're welcome." She smiled sweetly and turned back to her work. She thought for a moment, and then turned to say something else to Zuko, but he was already gone again, off to find the man who was currently ruining his life.

"Hey, I got you those shoes. Let me tell you, the dancer did not want to give them up, she gave me quite a fight. Literally." Sokka said from her side. He carried with him a pair of ballerina slippers.

"Oh, Sokka! I, uh…Changed my mind about trying to get them to match the dress, you can give them back." Katara had forgotten all about her brother.

"Wha-?! You had me attacked by a ferocious man-eating dance so that you could tell me to give them back?!"

"Uh…Yes?" She shrugged sheepishly, and turned back to her purple son-to-be dress.

"…Fine!" Sokka stormed off towards the unhappy dancer.

Katara suddenly noticed that his fingers had been bruised, and a though struck her. Was he the yelping worker that she had heard up until a few minutes ago.

The thought made her laugh.

**Notes: Yes, the show has ended…It was so sad, and happy, and funny, and freakin' AWESOME!! And even the Maiko scene was kinda cute! I'm so proud to have had been an Avatard from the beginning, and to have shown my Zutarian/Taang support by writing this. It's also been a honor to be with you, my fellow avatards! The show's ending has put a new-found determination to get this story finished!! AHA!! LONG LIVE THE FANDOM!!**

**Also, I'm very sorry for the lateness of it all; I've had a really bad ear-ache recently, and you'd be surprised how being sick affects your ability to think clearly.**

**And also, not much of anything but Zuko/Katara POV in this one. But don't worry, the next one will be mainly…Other peoples. I'll admit that I'm kinda've making this up as I go along SO! Ideas are great, and love you all!!**

**PEACE!!**

Chapter 7

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	8. Chapter 8: I Don't Know

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**Almost 2,000 hits! Thank ya very kindly!**

**Also, I own nothing!**

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**Chapter 8**

Aang had finally gotten Gyatso off of his mind, at least for a little while, when Zuko had shown up at his doorstep with a very drunk Katara. He still doubted that Zuko hadn't done anything, but he figured that Sokka would take care of it. He felt better in thinking about the middle of last night, and taking his mind off of anything and everything sad and confusing. So, in the morning, once he had finished getting ready and feeding Momo, Aang decided to try and call Toph again.

The phone rang once…Twice…and in the middle of the third ring, "Yeah?"

"Hey, Toph." Aang smiled. It was better to hear her normal, tomboyish voice than he thought it would be.

"Yo, Twinkles." Toph greeted her friend.

"Hey, do you want to hang out today? I've got…Well, I've just got to get out of the house." Aang sighed, sitting down on one of their tomato red bar stools.

"Sure, no problem. You know I'm always up to getting out of _my_ house." Toph said, only half joking.

"Great. Let's meet-"

"By the swing set at the park." Toph interrupted.

The two had always hung out on the swing set, before high school. Back when mud pies were the special item-and the only one-on their menu. Toph had always complained about not liking the swings; she had always said that being off of the ground made her uncomfortable and scared. Aang had told her that he'd push her and wouldn't let anything happen to her, but she had just laughed.

"_You couldn't protect a lady bug, twinkletoes."_ She had said.

Aang hadn't even thought about the place in forever.

"Uh, ok. Sure." He agreed. She probably chose that place because she knew the way like the dirt around her house, and wouldn't need any help. And _everyone_ knew that Toph _hated_ help.

"Good. See ya then…Oh! And don't forget this week's allowance, ok?" Toph laughed and hung up.

Aang pursed his lips. Figures she'd want him to buy her something.

* * *

Aang walked slowly, not in much of a hurry. It was getting cold out and the leaves were starting to die. He had always seen the great beauty in fall, but also saw a small sadness each year as well. The leaves, though there was no conciseness, were dying, and it saddened Aang. It had always reminded him that one day that'd be him dying, and that was one thing that scared him to death. This time, however, he wasn't scared for himself.

He approached the rickety old red swing set; there was a girl swinging slightly on it. Her back was to him, but Aang knew by her baggy pants, green skull sweater, and messy hair that it was Toph.

"Hey, sorry I'm late." Aang said as he got close enough to talk to her without yelling. But Toph had good hearing anyway.

"No problem, Twinkletoes. You only kept me outside, where I could've caught a cold, had to have gone to the doctor and contracted some deadly cancer from one of the other patients, and died in my sleep!" Toph's arms waved in the air, but she made no attempt to look in his direction.

Aang laughed and sat down in the swing next to hers. "Toph, there are three problems with your theory. First: You can't _'contract'_ cancer. Second: all cancer can be _'deadly'_. And third: You'd probably let the cold _kill_ you first before admitting that you needed to go to see the doctor."

"Psh, Aang you are way too literal. Loosen up, Dude." Toph playfully punched Aang's arm. But it still hurt.

"Ow!" Aang rubbed his now sore arm.

"Aang, you are such a wuss." Toph rolled her sightless green eyes.

"I am not!" Aang defended himself.

They sat there, Toph not bothering to prove to him that he really was a wuss, and Aang not really in the mood to try and defend himself. He found himself thinking about the last time that they had seen each other. She had hugged him, and it made him worry about her for a bit. She had never done something like that; it just wasn't like her to hug people. But this time she was normal as ever. Well, as normal as Toph ever wanted to be.

"Twinkletoes, is…Everything ok?" Toph broke the silence with her question.

"Huh? Oh, yeah…I mean…what?"

Toph turned towards him, her eyes, though sightless, burned straight into his soul. "I mean at home. Is everything ok? Did you have a fight, or did you get hurt or something?"

Aang's eyebrows raised high. "Why would you wonder about that?"

"Because you're not acting normal. Usually you have a bunch of things you want to do. This time, you said you just needed to get away. You _never_ need to get away. So something must be wrong." Toph stated like it was obvious.

"Oh…I just…Gyatso, he…It's just he…I just don't…" Aang kept starting, his voice sounding burdened and sad.

Toph's eyebrows furrowed. "What's going on?"

"Gyatso has Alzheimer's." Aang blurted out.

"…Oh."

"…Yeah." Aang sighed.

"I'm sorry, Aang." Toph laid a hand on his shoulder. He couldn't explain it, but that made him want to start crying all over again. And he wasn't going to do that. Not there. Not in front of her. But he couldn't stop it. Tears started flowing, warm and salty and totally unwanted.

"It's just…W-what am I going to do? He's dying!" Aang covered his face with his hands, tears now falling freely.

He felt himself be pulled into an awkward hug. "It's going to be ok." Toph soothed softly, not really knowing what to say. They sat unmoving, for a moment, each content not to say anything.

"Does Sugar queen know? I mean, I'm sure she'd be glad to help. And she probably knows some stuff 'bout Alzheimer's and could help you out." Toph started blurting out awkwardly, when she released Aang from her hug. She really had no idea why he would tell her, but of course, she was probably the last of their little 'gang' to know.

Aang sniffled and rubbed away his tears with his palm like a little boy who just got over dropping his ice-cream. "I'm going to tell her, and Sokka too, just…" He sounded sad, but his voice wasn't giving like most would've after a big cry. "Jut not yet. I don't want to trouble them."

Toph laughed. "Well then, thank you for be considerate enough to bother me!" She joked.

Aang smiled. "Well, you _are_ my best friend. It kinda comes with the territory." He shrugged.

Toph would never admit it to anyone, but she loved it when he called her his best friend. She was his best friend and Sugar queen wasn't. It was just something about that that made her smile, which she did. She patted his shoulder in a rough but loving way, which was sort of like her returning the compliment…In her own way, of course.

Toph felt Aang's shoulders square out under her hand. " Dippin' Dots!" He cried out and jumped up, separating her from him.

Toph stared blankly ahead, and with an eyebrow raised. "What?"

Aang spun around towards her. "A Dippin' Dots stand! I am determined not to let my sadness rub off on anything else, so I've got to get my mind off of the sad things, right?!" He tumbled out all at once.

"Uh…Right?" Toph shrugged.

"Right! Also, I love Dippin' Dots! Hang on, I'll be right back!" Aang sprinted over to the Dippin' Dot's stand.

"Hi." He said cheerfully. "Two large Dippin' Dots; one lime and another orange, please."

The fat old man running the stand nodded tiredly and got Aang what he ordered. "ten fifty." He said simply, holding out his hand.

"Right." Aang rummaged through his pockets to get the required payment. "Here ya go! Have a nice day, sir!" He grinned, handing the money to the grumpy man and started back for Toph.

"Here ya go, M'lady." His grin turned goofy as he handed Toph her lime snack.

"Thanks, my good sir!" She laughed and playfully punched him in the arm, glad but slightly disturbed by his sudden change of mood. "It's lime, right?" She asked before taking a bite.

"Of course." He said, his mouth full of orange flavored Dippin' Dots.

She nodded and tossed the spoon away before dumping all of her lime-flavored treat down into her throat in one big gulp. Then she handed it to Aang, who didn't quite know what to do with it. "Wow, that was good. Thanks, Twinkles." She smirked.

Aang hated that smirk, but he couldn't help but love it when she did it. "Toph," He nudged her playfully. "I know that look. It's your _'I'm going to do something evil soon' _look."

Toph laughed. "Don't you know it!"

The duo sat there, each on their respective swing. They both sat in silence, Aang eating his treat and Toph swinging back and forth slightly. They were both content to stay like that, but something began to bug Toph. Why had Aang lied to her about not wanting to bother any of their other friends? She knew he had been lying because he had had the swing's sides in a death-grip. He was never that clingy unless he was lying. He didn't know that she could read him like that but she knew that that also came with the best friend territory.

"…Aang?" She didn't turn her head in his direction because even though she couldn't see him, it was too hard to even have her head turned in his direction.

"Hm?" Aang still had a mouth-full of Dippin' dots, but instantly knew that something was wrong. "Are you ok?" He asked, concerned.

She laughed bitterly. "I…Really don't know. I just…I know that this is a really, really bad time…"

Aang was worried. "Toph..." He placed a hand on her shoulder, and he felt her stiffen under his touch. He almost wanted to pull away; he could feel that he made her uncomfortable. "Are you ok?" He repeated firmly.

"You tell me." She ran a hand through her shoulder-length thick black hair.

"Wha-?"

"Just stop! If you don't…I won't be able to do this." She swung her bangs out of her eyes.

"…Ok." His hand stayed in place, but he sat a little straighter, prepared for the worst.

'_And what is the worst?'_ He thought to himself. _'That she is leaving? That she is dying just like Gyatso? That she hates you?...That she loves you?'_

"Aang…"She froze.

"…"

Her eyes teared up and she flung herself into his arms yet again. But this time it wasn't like the last time. She buried her head into his chest and clung to his shirt as if for dear life. He felt his shirt damped and noticed that she was crying.

"…Toph?"

The crying continued.

He gingerly wrapped his arms around her when she didn't reply. She clung to him even harder, and he could feel her whimper as she cried. It completely and utterly scared him. This was Toph. _Toph_. She didn't cry, and she most certainly didn't whimper. "It's ok, it's ok." He tried to calm her down.

"I-I…" She struggled out.

Aang stroked her hair soothingly.

Suddenly, the crying stopped, he could feel it.

"…D-Do you love K-Katara?" She asked, struggling to regain control of her voice after the cry.

Aang clamped his eyes shut and leaned his head against hers. That was what he had been afraid of…

"I don't know." He admitted truthfully. He felt her nod.

She lifted her head slowly, then, and gently placed her fingertips on his cheek. He didn't know what she was doing as first, but he decided not to say anything as she slowly started tracing his face with her fingers. He gazed at her almost sadly as her fingers traveled over his forehead, eyes, cheeks, nose, and finally, they gingerly came to rest on his mouth. He saw that her big black eye make-up was running down her cheeks, but her eyes looked so calm, just then. She closed her eyes for a moment, not moving. Aang felt a more than a little awkward, but again, said nothing.

She kissed him. She completely and utterly caught him off guard; he almost fell backwards off of his swing as her soft pink lips crashed against his. Her hands held his face, and for a moment he was sure that her hands were the only thing keeping him balanced on the swing and not on the floor. Thunder crashed over-head, just as shocking as her kiss. But it was over in less than a second. She let go of him just as quickly as she had grabbed on. He didn't see how she paused for a moment before running away, because he fell backwards on the swing. He landed with a thud, and when he finally did clear his head a little, all he saw what Toph running in the unmistakable direction of her house.

Aang stayed where he was, calves on the swing and his but planted firmly on the dirt where it had fallen, his mouth in the shape of a small "o". The shadows became longer and longer; the sun was starting to get tired and go down, but Aang stayed where he was. It must have been hours, but he wasn't really sure. His thoughts were in too much chaos to be concerned with the time of day, or his awkward position.

Eventually, though, someone found him.

"Aang?!"

Aang's glazed over eyes finally took focus on Katara, who was bend over his head, a half-smile on her face. "What are you doing?" She giggled light-heartedly.

"…Katara? When did you get here?" Aang was still a bit dazed.

"Uh, _we_ got here by walking. How'd _you_ get _there_?" Sokka made himself known with his loud remark.

"I, uh…Fell." Aang said, noticing that he was on the ground.

"Woo-we buddy, that fall must've cracked your head wide open! You're completely discombobulated!" Sokka laughed, but Katara nudged him.

"Sokka! Something's obviously wrong, so don't joke!" She reprimanded her brother then turned towards a very confused Aang. "What happened?" She asked kindly.

"…Something very, very bad." Aang admitted as Sokka bent down and helped his friend up. "Very bad." He repeated to himself.

Katara looked worried. "Aang, tell us what's wrong." She demanded with that oh-so familiar motherly tone of hers.

Sokka rolled his big blue eyes. "Aang, you don't have to tell us anything, ok? You just say what you want to!" He slung his long arm around Aang's shoulders and whispered. "But, since we're good and manly friends and all, you can tell _me_ what happened. You know, in manly confidence." He raised his eyebrows up and down in a really goofy way.

"Sokka!" Katara slapped her brother's arm. "I heard what you just said! So much for not telling us anything, huh?!" She looked mad, but it quickly turned to amusement. "Come on, Aang. We'll walk you home." She decided.

Sokka pulled away from his friend and sister. "Not me, I've gotta crash!" He spilled out quickly.

Katara rolled her eyes. "What, are you done protecting me? I thought you weren't going to let me out of your sight!" She laughed.

Sokka waved her off. "Nah, Aang's with you. He'll keep you out of any trouble…But if he doesn't-!" He raised his fist high and swung it around, trying to look tough. It didn't work.

Both Katara and Aang burst out laughing. "Bye Sokka." They both said at once.

Sokka stopped swinging his fists around and turned to go, waving. "Bye, guys." He called back to them.

Katara waited until Sokka was out of sight to start towards Aang's house, with Aang himself in tow.

"Hey Katara-What'd Sokka mean by 'guarding you'?" Aang wondered as they made their slow pace towards his home.

"…He said that I came back drunk last night. And I did, but I wasn't drinking!" Katara defended herself. "…I don't think." She added a minute later.

Aang nodded. "Yeah, Zuko showed up at my house at like, three in the morning with you. You were…Definitely drunk." He laughed.

Katara smiled. "Sokka said that you two brought me home, and that he thinks that Zuko raped me, or something." She rolled her eyes, smirking.

"Yeah…I think Zuko just wanted to get rid of you, not rape you."

Katara laughed and shrugged. "I guess so. That's how it always is, though. But I know that I'll get through to him eventually!" She sounded determined.

Aang's eyebrows furrowed. "Why are you so determined to see good in that guy? He's just a-"

"Ah!" Katara cut him off. "How would you like it if some random person who _didn't know you at all_ started saying that you were just some jerk?"

Aang was silent for a moment. "Good point."

Katara nudged him playfully and they were content to just walk in silence for a few minutes. Aang watched his pretty friend, the dark and cloudy background making her light, good attitude even more attractive. He knew that she didn't know that he thought of her that way. The only other person who did was actually…Toph.

But she had kissed him. Had she always wanted to do that? No, he knew that wasn't true. He was pretty sure that this had been a new development. But, did he like her back? And what about Katara?

Katara noticed his mood darken, almost as quickly as the sky had. "Aang, is something wrong?" It was a retoricle question; they both knew that something was bothering him.

"Katara," Aang started slowly. "Someone – a friend, actually – likes me, and I just figured it out. But I'm not sure if I like her, because for a long time I've liked someone else. I mean, I love being her friend, but I don't think we could work out as a couple..."

Katara patiently waited for him to continue.

"…But, she knew that I liked that other girl! She knew that she was the only one I was interested in! So why would she kiss me?!" Aang growled in frustration and pulled his hat as far down over his face as it would go. Why did Toph have to do this to him?!

"She…Kissed you?" Katara asked. She had always seen Aang as so young, the thought of him being kissed was, well, really new. "Who was it?"

Aang stopped walking and pulled his hat into place. He thought that it would have been obvious, but he guessed not.

"Toph." He admitted after a long moment.

Katara was taken aback. Toph didn't seem to be the kind of person to really like anybody. This a bit less shocking than when Toph had had a crush on Sokka, but it was still very shocking. "And…She kissed you?"

"Yeah." Aang sighed.

"And you…don't like her like she likes you?" Katara asked almost sadly. She didn't want either one of her friend's hearts to be broken, but from the sound of it, Toph's had already been broken a while ago if she knew the other that he liked.

"…I don't…Think so."

"Then…Who is it that you like?" She asked hesitantly.

Aang's eyes widened, obviously shocked by the question. He suddenly noticed the he was only about one block away from his house, and for a crazy moment, he considered running away from her and the question. But he decided against it.

"Uh…" He stuttered. "Well…You." He admitted sheepishly.

Now it was Katara's turn her eyes to widen. "Me?!" She felt like falling over. There was no way, _no way_ that Aang – who she had watched over since before she could remember – like liked her_. No way._

"Yeah."

"Aang…I don't…Why…Why didn't you tell me?!" She demanded after a moment of stuttering.

"Because I didn't want to make our friendship weird."

"But you still told me!" She didn't know why, but she liked not knowing better than when he had told her. She suddenly felt so bad for Toph.

"…You don't like me like I like you." Aang stated it as a fact. His eyes looked so sad and confused, Katara almost wanted to say she liked him back just out of pity. She slapped herself mentally. Aang didn't reserve that, she knew. No one did, really.

"No, I'm sorry Aang." Katara reached out to him, but he turned away, obviously hurt beyond what Katara had ever felt. After all, she had never had one of her best friends kiss her then have her heart broken all in the same day.

"It's ok," Aang's voice sounded so sad, so depressed. "I…Understand." He stood unmoving for a moment. "I guess…This is how Toph feels. I think she know that I don't really like her like she likes me."

Katara laid a firm hand on his shoulder. "Aang," She addressed him. "Give it time. I know that you really like me right now, but you'll move on; you're so good at moving on and being happy. I don't think that this is all that's bothering you. So be happy Aang, do it for me." She smiled at him kindly, but there was just a hint of sadness.

Aang wired his eyes shut and started walking towards his house again. "You don't understand. I've liked you for…As long as I can remember!" He threw his hands up in the air.

Katara almost wanted to cry. She loved Aang, but like she loved Sokka, not as a boyfriend. Seeing him this pained made her want to cry.

"And Gyatso's dying, you know!" He spun back around to face Katara, who had jogged to catch up to him, his pace was getting faster and faster. He had tears in his eyes.

Katara stopped in her tracks and covered her mouth in surprise. "No!"

Aang laughed bitterly and nodded, tears now running freely. "Yep, that's right! My dad's dying; I don't know _what's_ going to happen to me _or_ G.A.S.; Toph likes me; but you _don't_! I just have such a _great_ life! What's next?! Is Momo going to be in a freak accident and go bald?! _THE LORD FORBID THAT_!" He shouted, anger and hurt flaring up. And just as soon as it was there, it was gone. The rage in his eyes left and his head dropped.

"I'm sorry, Katara." He sniffled.

"Oh, _Aang_." Katara wrapped her arms around his small frame and held him close. "I'm sorry, too."

* * *

Sokka got back home relatively quickly, since she ran the whole way. He had had a huge craving the entire day; he should've brought some along. But then Katara might've figured it out. And that would've been horrible. Forget coming home drunk and accompanied by a punk, this would top the cake. But she didn't know. So that was good.

He thought for sure she would've noticed that morning. He had been bracing for it. But he guessed that her senses and that oh-so smart brain of hers had been a little dulled from the hangover. He had never been so grateful for those.

Sokka noticed that the house phone had one new message, so he played it as he made his way across the kitchen to the cabinet.

"_Hey Sokka, it's me, Yue."_ Came her peaceful voice from the phone's speakers. _"I don't have your cell, but I thought I should apologize for Joe. I mean, he's better once you get to know him… Tell you what! I want to make it up to you! Meet me for the four o'clock showing of that new movie that I heard you want to see! My treat, but you can buy the popcorn! Ok, well…See you then." _The message cut off.

Sokka smiled as he opened up one of the cabinets. Katara would be refilling his supply of…goodies and Yue was going on a date with him! It almost seemed to him that everything was working out perfectly.

He pulled out a handful of over-the-counter drugs and shoved all of them in his pocket, except for one, which he popped into his mouth. He waited a minute then popped another.

Yeah, life was good.

* * *

**Ok, so a few things I'd like to mention. First off, DON'T WORRY TAANGERS!! Second off, it's really **_**really**_** hard for me to write about Sokka being goofy and all of that crap, so I decided to show a darker side of him. This should be obvious right now. Also, if I say anything inaccurate about him and his obsession with his "goodies", please let me know. I've never had an addiction to anything like that, so I wouldn't know what it's like.**

**And thing will be slowing down for a little bit. I'm now working on a second fic with someone, and so I won't be able to devote 100 percent of my time to this. But fear not! I SHALL be writing still, just not as fast!!**

**Later, my peeps!!**


	9. Chapter 9: unpredictable

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* * *

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Chapter 9

In the next two months, things progressed either for better or (more often) for worse. Friendships progressed or reduced. Enemies were formed, or were changing. Tests were passed and failed. The only thing that really seemed to stay the same was C.S.' predictably un-predictable weather.

Aang and Toph had, inevitably, grown apart. He was avoiding her the most, but if he hadn't, she most certainly would've. Sometimes he'd stare at his blind friend, who had started hanging out with Katara more and more, and feel burning need to go over there and kiss her the way that he had been kissed. At other times he'd rather that she start going to a different school. Either way, he was greatly saddened that their friendship had suffered such a harmful blow. He replayed that moment in his head a thousand times over, as if by doing so he'd change what had happened. And it didn't make it any better that he had been avoiding Katara, too.

Toph, on the other hand, tried very hard _not_ to think about anything that had anything to do with Aang. She had found a sort of strange kinship in Katara, who had told her that Aang had confessed everything to her, and that she had rejected Aang just as Toph had been rejected. Katara, she found, was a good friend. Not the sort that you'd want to do something risky with, but still good company. But in the middle of the night, she'd find herself awake and wishing that she could hear Aang laughing with her again.

Sokka had been having very good luck with Yue in the last month. He still flirted with Suki on occasion, but almost everyone could tell that she was second to Yue. It had always gone back and forth with those three, Sokka giving more attention to this one, then to that one the next week. Plus, Yue had a very protective boyfriend who was very vigilant in keeping his girlfriend away from "that gay guy". Also she'd be going to college. But Sokka hadn't ever let education get in the way of anything before.

He had also kept his secret away from his sister, and had even found his own vendor at C.S. High, which had made it considerably easier to keep it away from Katara, since she was the only one out of his family who would be suspicious enough to find out about him.

Zuko had, at first, tried to completely and utterly avoid Katara so that he wouldn't have to be nice to her. He might not like her, but he had a strong sense of honor, and would – no matter what – keep the promises that he made. Unfortunately. Katara, of course determined to make Zuko better even if he avoided her, didn't let him get away from her. Zuko had pretty much given up trying to run away from her. He tolerated her presence, and found that sometimes he even actually enjoyed it. But he'd rather kill himself before he'd ever admit that to anybody, _especially_ to Katara.

Mai had noticed Katara's constant clinging to Zuko; if she hadn't thought that she liked him before, she definitely thought so now. But she didn't let it worry her much; Zuko was so obviously not into her. Regardless of what anyone said – especially Azula – she took her usual I-don't-care attitude about the whole thing. But, strangely, it was getting harder and harder to keep up. I mean, he was hers…Not officially, but still. It was common knowledge. So one average-looking girl wouldn't change anything…Right?

Ty lee's life hadn't really changed much; she had been and still was the most loved on the cheerleading team. Azula didn't seem to mind her attractiveness to almost everyone at the school, but she could tell that Azula stiffened more than two boys were giving her attention at once. Ty lee decided that _maybe_ she should start wearing less revealing clothes…

Azula, to her horror, was dealing with a completely different problem. At first she had put all of her energy into bringing her brother down, but resent developments had changed everything. She never wanted to have another birthday again. Never, never, never. She didn't even remember more than half of it, everyone there had been too drunk to tell up from down. She – and every other person who had fallen asleep there drunk – had the worst head-ache that she had ever had. And that wasn't the worst of it…She had woken up in nothing but her underwear. And they had been half-off. Not the best situation, to be sure. But she had woken up alone; at least, no one had been in the bathroom.

Things got worse from there. She had been late on her period. Nothing to worry about, but when she didn't have one at all she began to panic. She tried not going to the doctor, convincing herself that it was nothing. But one Monday she couldn't go to any of her classes because she was in the bathroom, throwing up whatever little food that she had put in there.

She decided that it was time for a doctor visit.

"…I'm sorry if this is an inconvenience to you, Miss Azula, but you're quite pregnant." The old Doctor smiled sadly to the distraught teen. Azula guessed that he had seen many of her kind of cases in his time.

"Thank you." She forced out through clenched teeth, and made her way towards the exit, paying for the visit with her own cash; she had no intention of letting anyone know about this.

It was almost funny, in a way. At first, before the missed periods and morning sickness, she had just thought that she was getting fat.

She go got home and collapsed on her bed, putting a manicured hand on her belly, which now had the smallest pop. It was a curse of waiting so late to find out what was wrong with her.

She growled low, and for the first time she resembled Zuko. And the thought made her growl even lower.

She rolled onto her side, and curled up. She didn't even know who the father was; she had woken up alone. For the first time in what seemed like forever, Azula was unsure of what to do, and completely afraid. And that thought alone scared her.

She snatched her Chanel handbag and yanked out her cherry-colored razor flip-phone. She dialed a number hastily, having to re-do it in her haste. She pressed the phone to her ear, hands shaking. Azula listened in agony as the phone on the other side rang once…twice…three times before someone picked up.

"_Hello?" _

"Ty lee!" Azula had never sounded so happy to hear her friend's voice.

"_Is something wrong, Azula?"_

"Ty lee, there is something that I have to tell you, but you can't tell _anybody_. _Especially_ Zuko. This is going to be between you, me, and Mai. Got it?" Azula spoke franticly, a hand still on her stomach.

"_Of course, Azula. Like always. What's wrong?"_

"…"

* * *

"…I just wish that I had never said anything that day!" Aang's head fell into his hands as if he had a head-ache.

"Ah, don't worry, Buddy. I'm sure they'll come around…Eventually." Sokka tried to comfort his friend as he put up the various organic food stuffs.

Sokka was at his infamous work, barely keeping his stomach down at the sight of all of the non-meat products. But at least they paid him; it was the biggest way that he got money for...Well, everything. Gas prices, though not as high as they had been, were dragging him down with him.

"But, Sokka," Aang handed his friend a bag of weird-looking salad. At least, he thought that it was salad. "They're both some of my best friends. If they both have become so distanced…I don't know how our friendships would last." He laughed. "I'd be happy to just be Katara's friend."

Aang had come more and more to visit Sokka at his job, much to Sokka's boss' frustration. And that just made Sokka enjoy Aang's visits all the more.

Sokka grinned. "Sure, Buddy. But I don't think you'd have much of a choice."

"I still can't believe that you would've been ok with me and her…You know, dating." Aang shrugged. He had gotten over the initial self-pitying stage, for the most part.

Sokka laughed and shoved more stuff on the shelf. "Truthfully, I wouldn't have."

"…Really?"

"Yeah, Really. But I'm her big brother; nobody's supposed to be good enough for her." Sokka grabbed the cart filled with things yet to be shelved and moved on to the next row.

Aang followed, scratching his wooly hat. "Oh, ok." He smiled awkwardly.

"But, hey, Toph doesn't have a big bro-"

Aang groaned. "I already told you, Sokka! I don't know! I just…What if it didn't work out? What if we broke up? We'd never talk again!" Aang cut Sokka off.

Sokka snorted rudely. "I case you haven't noticed, Aang, you two are already not talking. I couldn't get much worse. But you can make it better."

Aang zoned out for a while, then nodded. "I…You're right."

Sokka chuckled. "Aren't I always?"

Aang rolled his eyes. "See ya later, Sokka."

"See ya buddy." He said as Aang walked towards the exit. "Oh, don't forget! You can fix it!" He shouted after Aang, who just waved him off. Several of the store's regulars stared at him like _'you _still_ aren't fired?!'_

Sokka just gave them a _'never, dude'_ look and went back to his horribly completely organic work.

* * *

Mai had been with Zuko when she got the phone call from a now distraught Ty lee and an almost dead quiet Azula.

"What is it?" She answered her phone, not really caring about how rude it might seem. She and Zuko had been at the mall, just kind of browsing.

"_What?!"_ She barely kept herself from shouting. Zuko looked down from the ceiling that he had been staring at. He raised his good eyebrow. It would have to be bad to make Mai raise her voice. Maybe Azula had jumped off of a building. Nah, that was too much to hope for.

"Are you _sure_?" Mai, held her hand to the ear that wasn't to the phone to block out the various noises coming from the mall.

Zuko looked curiously at the phone in Mai's hand, for once wishing to be in on his sister's conversations.

"What is it?" he mouthed silently.

Mai looked at him like she was just realizing that he was there. She didn't answer him, but there was something in her eyes, Zuko hadn't really seen it before. It looked something like a mixture of disappointment, pressure, and the realization that you're standing next an enemy. "Sure, sure. Just us." She nodded absently, the look gone from her eyes just as soon as it had come.

Zuko stared at her for a few more seconds then rolled his eyes, and looked back up at the ceiling.

Zuko closed his eyes for a long time, it seemed. He listened to Mai's side of the conversation: mostly silence with the occasional sigh or "Go on."

"You birthday?! When-? Ok, ok. Alone? You've got to be-…Ok, sorry." Mai sighed in that _'I wish that the world would die'_ way.

Zuko wasn't sure if he should've been annoyed at Mai's constant chatting or interested in what had so obviously broke Mai's ever consistent cool.

He chose the former.

"I've got to go." Zuko told Mai – who was still on the phone.

Mai nodded. "Sorry, Zuko." She said, sounding pre-occupied.

Zuko Shrugged. "Yeah. Bye."

Mai's attention went back to the phone quickly, forgetting about Zuko.

Zuko glanced back at Mai one more time. He felt an undeniable urge to find out what was wrong; it was obviously very bad. If he was guessing right, Ty lee, no matter how stupidly loyal to Azula, wouldn't be able to resist the urge to tell at least _one_ other person about whatever it was they had been talking about. He'd find out and finally get an edge on his sister.

The thought made him smirk.

* * *

Zuko made his was back to his uncle's house; it'd be his shift, soon. He had no idea who his uncle got to work while he was gone, and he didn't care. He was just glad that his uncle gave his a break every once-in-a-while. Of course, it was almost Mai's shift, too. Maybe she would tell him something about why she had been freaking out on the phone, and he wouldn't have to go to all of the trouble to threaten some kid for the information.

Knowing Mai…It was just the matter of picking the right kid to threaten.

"Zuko, my boy!" Uncle greeted him with a hug, despite Zuko back away, obviously not liking the human contact.

"Uncle. Let. Go." Zuko said as she struggled to get out of Iroh's – surprisingly – strong grasp.

"Listen, Mr. Boring said that you should take an even more active role in helping the community, and I agree! You're too cooped up here in this old restaurant. So we agreed that you'd _keep_ _helping_ Boring twice a week!" Iroh laughed and patted his belly, as if he had just solved some major problem and was then ready to take a nap.

Zuko's face twisted up for a second, then relaxed somewhat. "_No_." Plain and simple.

Iroh saw some customers come in. "No time to talk now, my nephew! Go get ready for your shift!" He said with a smile then greeted the customers and led them to a table.

Zuko's nose twitched.

Sighing, he went to the kitchen and pulled on the green-trimmed black apron that was basically the uniform for the Chinese/tea restaurant. He rolled up his sleeves and started washing some dishes, which were all pilled up in the sick. His uncle had never been good with dishes. He always left them for Zuko, the only one who was really good at doing them. Mai could only manage to get things broken. Go figure.

"Hey!" A bubbly voice called from behind him; he almost sliced open his already damaged fingers on the knife that he had been cleaning.

"…What are _you_ doing here?" He wondered out loud, resuming washing the dishes.

Katara walked up and started drying the wet dishes that he had set aside for drying later. "Well, I was applying for a job." She said with the kindness in her voice that she reserved only for those she liked and where her friends.

"But, you already work-"

She laughed. "I mean a _real_ job. One that I get paid. I mean, don't get me wrong, I _love_ volunteering, but every penny counts, right?"

Zuko looked at her as if she was crazy, before resuming his work. "I…Guess." He shrugged.

Katara blushed and looked strictly at the dishes that she was drying. Awkward silence filled the room, penetrating everything and making the water pouring from the faucet sound like water pouring down a waterfall. Neither one looked the other one's way, and neither one saw the other's slight blush. Zuko was frustrated that he had even been blushing in the first place.

"Oh, Zuko, do you know this lovely young lady? She's working here, now." Iroh bounced into the kitchen, a tray of empty tea cups in his hands.

"Yeah, we've met." Zuko grumbled, uncharacteristically shy, still looking down at the suds.

Katara smiled and placed the small towel that she had been using to dry the dished with in Zuko's arm so that she could help Iroh with getting more tea and cups for his waiting customers. Zuko's shoulder felt hot where she had touched him.

"Why thank you, my dear." Iroh chuckled and gave up the tray without a fuss.

"No problem." Katara smiled sweetly down at the old man. "Here, I can take those for you." She gently took the tray from Iroh's hands and left to find the customers who had ordered it.

Iroh smiled in her direction for a moment before walking over to his nephew and giving him a nudge. "She's a fine girl, isn't she?" There was something in his voice that Zuko didn't like.

"Uncle." He warned. He knew exactly what was going through his mind right then. "Don't even _think_ about it."

Iroh laughed. "Oh, my dear nephew, what else is there to pass the time for one at my age?"

Zuko rolled his eyes. "Uncle, you're not _that_ old. There are _plenty_ of other things for you to do."

Iroh laughed. "Yes, but I like _this_." He chuckled and left the kitchen, leaving a very embarrassed Zuko, with a growing pink on his cheeks.

* * *

No one noticed when Mai came in, especially not Zuko. He was the only one that she really wanted to notice her. But she noticed that girl who liked to cling to him, that girl named Katara. And when she had gone into the kitchen and finally gotten Zuko's attention, he had had the _slightest_ tough of pink to his cheeks. That made her mad. First, Azula was _pregnant_, and now Zuko was being reeled in by that…That…That _tramp_?!

She wouldn't allow it.

To make matters even worse, that Katara girl didn't even seem to notice the affect that she had on him. But Mai did. And when she studied Katara closer, she saw that _Katara_ was studying Zuko with the same determination that Mai had been studying her. But for a different reason, Mai guessed.

She didn't really have a "_claim_" on him, but almost everyone knew that they were perfect for each-other. They had almost the exact same personalities. They only dealt with things differently.

Katara was the exact _opposite_ of Zuko; she would bug him to death, and she was surprised that she hadn't _already_.

Mai purposely ignored Katara, even if it was just with small, insignificant things. She would make sure that she got the point: _"You're not welcome."_

Katara tried to put the rudeness of Mai aside, but it eventually got to her – no matter how much she tried to not let it.

She had no idea why Mai was being so rude, but Mai would make sure that she got the message perfectly.

She decided to help Azula trip up Katara, even if that meant tripping up Zuko, too. There was no reason why he had to know, and with Azula not exactly working at 100 capacity, Mai could fill in for the missing evilness.

"_All for Zuko,"_ Mai thought to herself. _"And it will be all worth it…_If_ it works."_

And Mai knew – after watching Katara work for a week – just how to bring the A+ student down…

* * *

The Bei Fong mansion was one of the largest houses in the whole city of Central System, second only to the mayor's house. Their house had almost an Italian feel to it, courtesy of Toph's mother's brilliant decorating sense. They had a large gravel driveway with a huge fountain right in the middle of it. The fountain was the shape of a Greek-looking woman pouring water into the fountain out of her large jug. Their 8-foot tall hedges kept out prying eyes, and a large rusty gate separated them from the "commoners".

Inside was more like a palace. Chandeliers hung from every ceiling and black and white marble floors surrounded you wherever you went. The wall varied by what rooms you were in, but the colors ranged from yellow to a deep red to a brilliant forest green. Past their large golden-themed ballroom and up their large marble stairs, in the very back of the house, sat the one very large room that only one person was allowed into: Toph's room.

You were assaulted by the smell of cinnamon buns as you entered the room; she always kept snack cakes in various places. The walls, though she could not see them, were a deep shade of green that she would've liked. The king-sized bed, which was the vocal point of the room, was covered in various clothing articles. No one had even seen the floor in so long; no body could remember what it had looked like.

Despite the room being taken over by messiness, Toph sat peacefully on her bed, hands on her lap, and earphones bursting music into her ears. Music was almost all that she listened to; she had started drowning everyone except for a select few out. Life was easier that way. No disappointments.

She didn't know what she had been thinking that day. Why on earth did she have to kiss him? She already knew what his reaction would be. Had she had a death wish? Apparently, she had.

Honestly, though, she hadn't expected Aang to fall off of the swing. She didn't see it – how could she? – But she heard him yelp and the large thud as he hit the ground. If it had been any other day, she would've laughed. But she had been too scared, so she had run away. For the first time in what seemed like forever, Toph Bei Fong had run away from a challenge. Well, technically not a _challenge_, but close enough.

The first time that she had heard from Katara after that incident, she had wanted to claw the older girl's eyes out. At least, until Katara had explained everything to her. Huh, she almost felt bad for Aang, the poor loser.

Toph shoved the thoughts of her best friend out of her mind; she wouldn't get over him any sooner if she just kept thinking about him!

She had gotten a kiss – no matter how unwanted – and that should've been enough.

But, unfortunately it wasn't.

Toph wanted Aang to like her back, to be able to return the kiss someday.

"Huh," Toph muttered bitterly. "Yeah right."

Toph let herself fall back into her music, tapping her fingers along with the rhythm.

She had gotten so absorbed that she almost didn't hear her door opening.

Almost.

She didn't really feel like addressing whoever it was, for it'd either be a maid or one of her obnoxious parents. But no, neither one of her parents were home from work, and all of the maids were too scared to even think about going in her room. She made sure of that.

But they were the only people who would be in there…Unless one of her friends actually…

"…"

"…Hi, Toph."

* * *

**Yeah, most of this will probably seem random, but my plot line 1: needed to move to get the story moving and 2: I'm making half of this up as I go.**

**And yes, Azula's pregancy was planned from the beginning. Cookies to whoever can guess who the daddy is!! ;D**


	10. Chapter 10: I’m not there, yet, Bumi

**Chapter 10**

.:A few days earlier:.

* * *

Gyatso's condition, although he was being cared for most fervently, was steadily declining. It was to be expected of course; after all, he was going to die from it. Aang was still in shock – and almost in tears – when he forgot about Momo, or to get dressed properly, or even about Appa. So far he still knew his adopted son, but Aang dreaded the day when he wouldn't.

Gyatso, although forgetting about stuff such as was mentioned, recognized his decline and made arrangements for one of his good old friends to come and stay with them.

Bumi, although a little crazy in his own right, was Aang's godfather, and was quick to reply that he was going to catch the next over-water train to C.S. as possible. He had visited about once every year, and had jokingly claimed that his time was up to see them again, anyways. Gyatso had laughed, but Aang stayed silent. Everything that was happening was too much. He wished he was on good terms with all of his friends, again, and that Gyatso wasn't going to die.

Bumi arrived in the middle of the night about one week after getting his friend's call. He was very tall and just about as old as Gyatso, but he was the healthiest man that Aang had ever known. He was so fit for his age, it almost scared him.

"Hey, kiddo!" Bumi greeted Aang, waving merrily, despite the sober mood that hung thick in the air.

"Hey Bumi." Aang managed a smile, but he just really didn't feel the usual joy of getting to see Bumi again. He was too sad and too tired. Bumi saw this and patted Aang's shoulder.

"How're ya doin', kiddo?"

Aang yawned. "I'm fine." He lied. But it felt like truth enough when he said it.

Bumi chuckled, amused at the droopy-eyed boy. "So Gyatso," he addressed his friend. "Let's head back to your place. I'm driving!" He snorted in that way he did when he thought that something was funny.

Gyatso had, for a moment, not recognized Bumi when he had gotten off of the late-night train. But he had snapped back to it. He agreed to let Bumi drive; he knew that he really shouldn't have driven to the station in the first place, but Aang had no permit, so he had done it.

"Ok Bumi. Aang," The teenager snapped out of his delirium at the mention of his name. "Take Bumi's bags and stuff them in the trunk."

Aang nodded, sleep filling his movements. He picked up the two worn-out brown bags and headed towards the car, the two old men at a lesser pace. The beat-up car was already unlocked – no one would even want to steal it, it was so beat-up – and he did s Gyatso had instructed of him. He climbed in the back seat just as Bumi climbed in the front.

The two men were talking about something, but Aang couldn't concentrate enough to figure out what. Nothing seemed to matter to him except the calling of sleep. He laid his head down on the seat next to him and let sleep – which had long been nagging at him – take over.

* * *

Suki scratched out an answer to a question on her homework for the thousandth time. This question 13 was really bugging her. She was only half-way done, and she had to be at the dojo in two hours, so she was trying to rush through her homework that she had neglected last night.

Sighing, she gave up and got dressed in some sport shorts and a green tank-top. She completed her morning routine and tried one more time to figure out the difficult problem before heading towards the kitchen for some breakfast foods.

When it was time, she headed ff to work, always on foot. It served as a morning walk and a commute to work. Suki smiled at the thought. 'Now that's killing two birds with one stone.'

Mornings on the C.S. sidewalks weren't ever especially busy; most people drove to work. It was mostly joggers, children going to school, and dog-walkers. But it was a weekend, so no children going to school. A light fog hung over the large city, and cooled off Suki's walk, something that she enjoyed immensely. She hated when, in the middle of summer, she'd be sweating even before she went to work.

Her cell-phone buzzed in her pocket. Pulling it out, she saw that she had a text-message from Sokka:

"_u working 2day?_

_lunch w/ me?"_

She almost laughed. It was only about 7 in the morning; she had no idea that Sokka even got up on the weekends.

She replied:

"_ya im working_

_I get off 8"_

She sent it and crossed the street while waiting for a reply.

"_k dinner then? 8:30 ill pick you up"_

Suki smiled, a blush running its way across her cheeks.

"_k see ya then."_

Giggles bubbled out of her, but she quickly covered her mouth. Sokka hadn't been acting unusual lately, but now he was suddenly asking her out?

She had never wanted work to be over early, but at that moment, she wanted to just skip everything up until the date time. But, being the sensible girl that she was, she just pushed the thought out of her mind and went back to the thoughts of work.

"…What should I wear?!"

* * *

Azula quietly paced the floor, one question circling through her mind: Who was the father?

She had danced with countless boys at the party, and had flirted almost endlessly. It had been her party, after all, and she had deserved it, right?

"Obviously not," she muttered to herself. "Look at what that got you…Some birthday present." She had paced back and forth so much that there was practally a permanent rut in her floor.

Where would she even start? There had been so many guys at her party, it was almost impossible to narrow the list down. Maybe she could ask around and see which boy she was seen with last. Unless everyone had been high by then. I that didn't work, maybe she could just ask the boys herself, and see if any of them had been sober throughout the night. Of course, she wouldn't _over her dead body_ tell anyone about her situation. What if it got around to her brother?

Ugh, nightmare.

But, if _those_ plans failed, maybe she could just wait and get a DNA test…Unless she needed a sample from the guy, too. Then she'd be in trouble. How would she ever convince a guy to do _that_?!

It was obvious to her that she was getting nowhere with that line of thought. It all just ended in more uncertainties, and she _never_ had uncertainties. Horrible.

Ty lee had decided to help her friend and ask around for her. Especially since she wouldn't be in school much longer. She wouldn't allow herself to be there when she was fat. Let alone pregnant.

Of course, by that time, she would've had to have told her father…Something that she was utterly dreading. How would he take it?

She shook her head; she'd get to that when the time came. She picked up her cell and called Ty lee, still pacing back-and-forth, but slower.

"Hey, Azula." Ty lee said, sounding happy, but a bit timid.

"Hey, do you know if Mai is going to help or anything? Or if she mentioned something to my disgrace of a brother?" That had really been bugging her. Mai had a sickening crush on him, and she feared that it would cause her to turn her back against her friends; Azula wouldn't allow that.

"No, not as far as I know." Ty lee said, sounding unusually bored.

"Is something wrong?" Azula demanded.

"No; I've been calling all of my friends from the party. Most never even saw you – they were all girls – but a few of the boys saw you making out with well…Just a bunch of random guys. One guy saw you making out with one of the guys even longer than some of the others, though. But he didn't recognize him. He said that he'd point him out for you, though." Ty lee said helpfully.

"…Really?" Azula stopped dead in her tracks. Maybe this would be good.

"Yeah! I haven't gotten anything more than that, though. I think I'm going to take a break, I've been calling people for three hours." Ty lee sounded more like she was pleading for a day off than like a friend who was just helping another friend out.

"Of _course_, Ty lee." Azula said, trying to sound nice, but her brain had moved on from her conversation. She needed to talk to that boy. Next week would be one of her last, so on Monday she'd make a point to talk to him first-thing. "But before you do, Ty lee," Azula added right before her friend was about to hand-up. "Can you call Mai and ask her to give me a visit?"

"Sure, Azula." Ty lee yawned. "Bye."

Azula didn't bother returning the fare-well, she just pressed the 'End' button and threw her cell back on her plush-like bed.

She changed into some of her pajamas, and climbed under her silk sheets. Ty lee had the right idea, but her clothes were fitting tighter than usual – and that was saying something. She decided that she'd go shopping some time the next week.

She yawned and fell into a restless sleep.

* * *

Aang sat on his knees as he polished Appa. He had long ago taken over the job from Gyatso, and the familiar motions soothed him like nothing else could. Momo rubbed his thigh over and over, trying to maybe get some extra food. Aang smiled; Momo was a never-ending pit that could just take on food item after food item. But he never got any fatter. Gyatso had once commented on how much Momo was like Aang in that regard, but he doubted that he still remembered it…

"What's up, kiddo?"

Bumi trolled lazily over to where Aang was. His large frame always had the effect of making their home look smaller to Aang.

"Hi, Bumi." He spared a smile of the crazy old man.

"Hey, what'd ya get when you cross an apple with a vampire?" Bumi liked testing out his 'jokes' on Aang, but he wondered half of the time if Bumi actually believed that they were true.

"…I dunno, what?" Aang shrugged, still smiling, but turning back to his work.

"A very confused piece of nature!" Bumi snorted in his trade-mark way that make you want to send him over to the rainbow house.

Aang laughed at the awkwardness of his answer to the pun. "Great, Bumi."

Bumi laughed along with him and leaned against a part of Appa that hadn't been polished. "So…" He trailed off, picking at his nails. "One of your friends called today while you weren't here." He said casually.

Aang nodded, focusing on his work. "Who was it?"

Bumi scratched his head. "Uh…Sorra? No, no…Hakko! Er, Sakko?"

Aang laughed. "Sokka"

Bumi nodded. "Right. The one who loves meat."

"That'd be him." Aang confirmed.

"Yes, well he said to tell you to talk to…Whoever it was that you promised to talk to." Bumi leaned closer to Aang's form, a crazy look it his eye. Nothing unusual for him.

"Is the person a girl?"

Aang stuttered. "I-ah-well…It's not-Er…"

Bumi laughed. "Kiddo, if it's a girl you better go there right now and make up. You never know when your going to be as old as I am!"

Aang rolled his eyes. "I'm not there, yet, Bumi." He sighed.

"Right now, Aang." Bumi insisted, all of his usual craziness gone, replaced by what seemed to be an earnest desire to see Aang happy. "I'll finish this up for you." He added before the teen could even think about it.

"Uh…Ok." Aang got up, almost in a daze, and headed towards their door. He suddenly stopped and turned, though. "But, I don't know what to say!"

Bumi laughed. "You'll know when you get there, Kiddo!"

Aang's heart stopped beating all of the way out of his house and onto the street. This was going to be a long walk.

* * *

Yue sat quietly in her boyfriend Joe's car, one hand holding his and the other under her chin in thought. Joe's white convertible – a seemingly popular car around C.S. – sped no-so-quietly down the road. Joe had never cared for speed limits. Her long hair was braided and flying behind her. Joe's hair was out of his face, too, for once, but his large pilot-styled sunglasses hid most of his expression.

Her date with Sokka had gone without a glitch, except for her conscience that had told her otherwise. Joe was a nice guy, he really was, but to him she was just arm candy. She knew that, and he knew that she knew that. She usually didn't mind, she had always been arm candy. But not with Sokka; he had treated her like a goddess. She had to admit that it was nice to be cared for.

But, even though she knew that Joe had had his share of other flings, it still bugged at her conscience that she went out with Sokka.

"What's wrong, baby?" Joe asked as they rolled up to a stoplight.

"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking."

Joe laughed. "I warned you about that." He had always told her that she had thought about things too much, and to just leave the hard decisions to him. Totally sexist, but Yue never really bothered to correct him. It was just Joe's nature.

Yue forced a smile. "Oh I know." She turned to look at him. "But I was thinking of you, Joe." She added.

Joe smiled even bigger. Even though she was arm candy, she knew that it still made him feel good to be the subject of her thoughts. He had no idea.

Silence stretched out between them, only broken by the rumbling of the car.

"So…" Joe started. "I was thinking, at the end of summer…" He trailed off, as if trying to decide how to break something to her.

"What?" Her interest sparked. Joe rarely planned for the future.

"…Why don't we…Get away?" He shrugged, eyes kept on the road.

"…What?" Yue repeated.

"You know, get away…Leave," He turned to stare at her through his glasses. "For good."

Yue didn't know what to say. "You mean…run away with you?"

Joe nodded and turned back towards the road, but Yue's gaze was now fixed on her boyfriend. "Yeah, for good."

Yue's mouth just hung open.

"Think about it, baby!" Joe exclaimed, turning a corner. "You and me! Forget about everything else; go and live where you want! Where _we_ want!"

"But, what about college?! It's starting this fall, I can't just-"

"Sure you can! Forget about all of that crap, Baby!" Joe was excited.

Yue wasn't sure what to think. "I don't know, Joe. This is a lot to take in…"

Joe rubbed her knee with the hand that had been holding one of her own. "Just think about it, Yue…please." He hadn't used her real name in a very long time. Not seriously, anyways. That meant that he was seriously thinking about it; he was actually serious!

Yue sighed, and laid her hand on top of his. This was just so much. Did she really want to run away with Joe? What would they do? How would they provide for themselves? Would Sokka ever forgive her? Would she ever even forgive herself? Her head was spinning, and she was frustrated at Joe for even suggesting it. Her school was important to her, she could just forsake it…She loved it in C.S…She would miss her friends…She would miss Sokka…

"Ok, I-I'll think about it…"

* * *

Azula listened quietly as her friend expressed that, although she had refused to help her with her plans before, she was willing to help her then. She explained that since she wasn't "fully operational" anymore, she was willing to do some dirty work. And she told her that Zuko needed to pay, but for what, she didn't say. Normally, Azula wouldn't have let Mai help her, given the suspicious conditions, but as much as she hated to admit it, she wasn't in her best health, with the baby and all. She had really just planned on resuming her planning after the baby problem had been fixed, but this new development provided entertainment. For the time being.

"Oh, very well Mai." Azula sounded bored, but had a mischievous smirk on her face. "You may help me get back at my brother."

Mai nodded a smirk of her own playing across her pointed face. "Thanks Azula." _'As if she was doing me a favor.'_

Azula's smile widened. Oh the things that Mai tried.

"Of course," Azula said. "You're going to have to be doing almost all of the…_Hands on_ work, but I'll still be able to some of my own." She had a knack for making everything sound like a top-secret military operation. Which it practically _was_.

"I've got something to tell you, though..." Mai reclined on one of Azula's couches in her crimson room. The color either grew on you after a while, or made you want to puke. Mai just never wanted to see the blood-red color again.

"Of course," Azula interrupted her friend. "We may have to get back at a few other people, too…Like that one girl."

Mai tried to look bored, but that was why she was really helping Azula. She wanted the Katara girl out of her way. Of course, Zuko might get pulled into it, but she was confident that he'd forgive her.

"I've got a way to get Katara." Mai said bluntly.

"…Oh?" Azula waited expectantly.

"Yes. She and her brother are extremely close, or so I've heard. But he's been getting into something that I don't ever think he's gotten into before." Mai paused.

Azula looked only semi-interested. "And what's that?"

"Drugs." Mai said as if it was obvious. "He's always getting them from that kid who smuggles them in; you know the one across from my locker?" She explained.

"Mai." Azula sounded short-tempered. "You think that we can somehow get Zuko back by getting Katara back by getting her _brother_ back?" She asked in tat calm, _"I'm not in the mood for this"_ voice. "No. I've gotten my own information, thank you. I want to keep this list short and simple."

Mai didn't want to suggest it, but was dying to know. "Then why not just go after Zuko?"

Azula smiled, like she had been waiting for Mai to ask. "Because the worst way that I can get to him s by getting to her. He's attached, even if he doesn't know it." She ate a cherry out of a bowl on her growing stomach.

Mai sat silent for a minute.

"Oh." She finally spoke up. "Then what do _you_ suggest, Azula?" Now, more than ever, she wanted to ruin Katara's life forever. And Azula was helping her, even if she didn't know it. Her help almost _guaranteed_ success.

Azula chuckled.

"Have you noticed that Katara's gotten fatter recently?"

* * *

Aang's heart hadn't gotten any better once he got to Toph's house. No it seemed to be beating at a rate at which had never done before. It made him jittery.

It wasn't as if he was going to say that everything was ok, and they'd be boyfriend and girlfriend. He wasn't about to say that they would have a happily-ever-after. No way. He wasn't even sure about how she felt! She was probably going to kill him once he got to her house. She was probably mad at him for ignoring her. She probably wouldn't even see him at all. Her parents probably didn't even know that he existed. And he was just probably going to run into another pole, at that rate.

Ugh, why did High-school have to be so freakin' hard?!

He slowly made his way towards her mansion's entrance. The door was so large, he felt like jack-and-the-beanstalk going to see the giant and get eaten. Only on purpose.

"Hello." A maid explained how none of the Bei-Fongs were home at the moment, but Aang knew better. He knew that Toph just had to be in there.

"That's ok," he grinned sweetly as he walked right past her. A strange determination filled his lungs and chest. He would make it right with his friend…Not matter who got hurt. "I'll just show myself into Toph's room!"

The maid called after him and shouted to have some people vacate him off of the premises. Aang didn't care; he was a fast kid, when he wanted to be. He started up the stairs at a sprint, skipping every other one.

Maybe she'd forgive him. Maybe they could all go back to how it was. Maybe they'd be ok….Or maybe she'd never see him again.

Aang dodged a random janitor as he got to the top of the stairs, and paused. Left, right, or straight? Aang sprinted straight ahead; he could always turn back or jump out of a window if needed be.

The thought had occurred to him, of course, about trying to make it work. It seemed like the nicest thing to do; maybe she'd figure out that he was in love with Katara – even if she had rejected him – and would come to accept that. Or maybe not.

But of course, he had also wondered about that kiss. He hadn't expected it, and most of the feelings had been pure shock and disbelief. But there had been one small part; maybe he had imagined it. It hadn't been a spark, more like…Like he had felt that something that had been waiting to happen for years finally happened. As if it had all been planned. And there had been a warmth, too. One that he had always gotten when hanging out with friends, only it was more intense, almost like a spark but more like a match that first ignites. It was something completely and totally foreign to Aang, and he wasn't sure how to deal with it. He was sure that he actually _wanted_ to deal with it.

The people weren't really going at a fast pace behind him, anymore. As if whoever was that was would take care of him. He must've chosen the right direction to take.

There it was: a simple door, the only one that he had seen in the hallway for a while. Right at the end of the hall. Toph's room.

Aang slowed down and approached the door semi-hesitantly. Toph had always known when he was coming, maybe she would that time, too. Maybe she'd be waiting for him, a bat in hand.

Aang cringed at the thought.

Slowly, he moved his hand towards the knob and gave a slight twist, surprised at how easily the door swung open. He'd expected Toph's room to be _very_ heavily guarded. He must've been wrong.

…There she was; right there on her bed. She hadn't heard him coming at all. Her earphones were in, and she was drumming her fingers to an unheard beat. Aang had snuck up on her. Amazing.

Ha sat there for a few seconds, not caring when she noticed him. Did he really want to break her heart just like that? The more he thought about it, the more that he couldn't bear it. She looked so sad already, so lost in emotion. He could tell, even though she looked as if she was sleeping, for the most part. All that was moving were her fingers, but he could tell.

Taking a deep breath, he moved forward one step. He would figure this out, he had to. He was so confused, and he didn't know what to do; he felt as if, no matter who he chose, he'd be betraying one of his friends.

Toph twitched. Maybe she had heard him. He knew that it would be better if he started the conversation.

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Hi, Toph."

**Ok, I know that this took like a MILLION years for me to post, but first I had writer's block, then my internet was going whacko on me, then I had to help a friend move! So yep...**

**So tell me what you think about it, if you have any questions, or if you have any predictions! I love hearing them ALL!**


	11. Chapter 11: Jack? James? Jet?

_Disclaimer: I own nothing!_

* * *

**Chapter 11**

"Hi, Toph."

Silence.

Aang nervously shifted his weight from one foot to another, trying to think of how to proceed. It was painfully obvious that Toph wasn't going to make it any easier for him, but that was a no-brainer. Since when had Toph ever made anything easy?

"Toph." Aang tried again. He was certain that she had heard him, and he was determined to make things right with his friend.

She was determined not to.

"Toph." Aang repeated, this time firmer. He stepped towards the bed, like a man ready for battle. And he was walking into one, in a sense.

"We need to talk; we can't keep avoiding each other, you know." Toph's headphones were still in, but she had stopped tapping her fingers along with the beat. She looked just as ready for a fight as he did; probably even more so.

Still nothing.

Aang sighed and sat down at the edge of Toph's enormous green bed. She stiffened visibly when he did, but he ignored her. "Why do you have to make this so difficult for me?" He groaned and pulled his hat down over his eyes.

It took her a second, but she pulled herself up and yanked out her earphones, leaving the music running. "Me?" She said simply.

Aang was startled to hear her voice; it had been months. He pushed his hat away from his eyes and turned to look at her. Her face was red. 'Crap.'

"Me?! You think that I'm making this hard on you?! You better freakin' know that I am!"

Aang had had just about enough of Toph's constant attitude; why couldn't she be like anyone else and at least listen to what he was trying to say? He was convinced that she wouldn't be happy unless he got on the floor and groveled for all of his worth! "Why do you have to make this so difficult?!"

Toph looked like the wanted to punch him in the head. "Don't you _dare_ get mad at me Aang! You're not the one who should be mad!" She jabbed a finger in his general direction.

"That's stupid; why can't I be mad?!" He clenched his fists.

"Because _you_ hurt _me_, Not the other way around!"

Silence filled the room, and this time neither one wanted to break it.

Aang felt bad. She had been hurt by his obsession over Katara, and how he had always ignored her feelings. But what else could he have done? He hadn't even known that she had had feelings! But that still didn't make him feel less guilty. Toph was smart, and funny, and strong headed, and tough, and stubborn, and violent, and the best friend that he had ever had. But could she be more than a friend to him? It was true that he had definitely thought about it, but could it really happen? Did he want it to really happen?

Toph, meanwhile, laid back down and put her earphones back in. But her trip back to music-land was cut short by Aang pulling off the earphones and turning off the ipod. Or at least putting it one mute. Aang had never been too good with Toph's music stuff, so he wasn't really sure what he did.

"No, Toph. I want to talk to you." His voice was sad, yet firm.

Toph lifted one of her eyebrows and crossed her arms. "What?" She barked.

Aang never noticed, but he held onto her ipod like his life depended on it. "I'm…Sorry."

Toph said nothing.

"I…was thinking," he continued. "That…maybe we could…you know, maybe we could…try it, and…see if it would…work." His voice was quiet, and he wasn't sure how she's feel about it.

"…"

Aang's eyes were squeezed shut as he waited for an answer.

"…"

Suddenly, Toph burst out laughing. "Twinkletoes!" She managed between breaths.

Aang's face turned red indignantly. "_What_?"

Toph clutched her sides, rolling over on her bed, her laughter getting even louder. "You're…a laugh…Twinkles." She gasped.

Aang grabbed her shoulders and forced her to sit up straight. "I'm not joking, Toph." He insisted, and he found that he was perfectly serious.

Toph's features turned somber. "I know, Tinkles."

"…So?"

Toph ran a small hand over her pale face, sighing. "It…wouldn't work."

Aang pursed his lips. "Why not?" There she went again, making things difficult.

"Because you like Katara, not me."

Aang straightened up. "Well, you're my best friend, so I should give you a chance. I mean, we've worked out as friends, why can't we work out as more?"

Toph gave him a look. "You don't want it to work out, though."

Aang's twisted face relaxed into a half smile. "How do you know?"

Toph gave a smile of her own, but hers was bitter. " 'Cause I know you, twinkletoes."

"Well, obviously not enough."

She looked away so that Aang couldn't see her face. "Yes I do. And this won't work; you're doing this out of pity."

Aang sighed and let go of her shoulders, sitting back down next to her on the bed. "I don't know…Maybe I am." He admitted. She wouldn't have any lies, so he figured that he might as well tell her. "I told Katara, you know, after you…" He waved his hand awkwardly in the air.

"You mean after I kissed you?" Toph crossed her arms, but her face was one that she had when she had pulled and embarrassing prank on poor Aang, but a kiss was hardly a prank.

Aang nodded "yeah, after that."

Toph poked him. "So, what'd she say?"

Rubbing the back of his neck, he replied. "Um…She doesn't like me. Never has."

"…Oh. Sorry."

"No you're not!" Aang laughed.

Toph shrugged. "So? I'm not perfect."

"So, what'd ya say?" He didn't know if it was just him, but Toph's rather large room seemed to be shrinking in on them, making Aang feel claustrophobic.

Toph's eyebrows knit together, like she was trying to make up her mind. "…If you want out," she finally said, "it'll be easy to get out, right?"

Aang blinked. "I thought it was you who liked me, but you're the one who's putting up the most of the fight!" He chuckled. "If you don't want to…" He added, this time in a quiet voice.

Toph shook her head. "No…We'll see how this works." She shrugged, and uneasiness filled the air, choking out all conversation. Neither knew what to say, and neither wanted to say something stupid. And at that moment, almost everything that either one of them thought of to say sounded completely and utterly stupid.

"So…" Toph shifted uncomfortably. "Now what?"

Aang rubbed his forehead subconsciously. "Well…I think that we're supposed to go on a date." He suggested awkwardly.

Toph blinked.

"…_Whaaaaat_?"

* * *

Later in the week, on just a normal, everyday sort of Wednesday, Azula was lounging on one of the famously uncomfortable plastic seats in the cafeteria. Her feet were propped up on the chair next to her, and she had her spork in hand, with a small piece of fruit on it; she, however, didn't look like she was about to take a bite of any food any time soon.

Her eyes were scanning the crowd, looking for the one special girl, Katara. Mai sat across from her and Ty lee was nowhere to be seen. She wasn't concerned about her friends at that moment, though.

"There she is!" Mai started, pointing out their target. Katara was in line for the food, right behind some of the riffraff that she usually hung out with.

"For this to work, we're going to have to get to her without her 'friends'." Azula stated; her voice low and dangerous; she was like a lioness on the hunt.

Azula kept an eye on Katara as she came 'round.

"_Kataaara_!" Azula cried in that peppy tone of voice that cheerleaders have ever-so-often.

Katara, being completely caught off guard by Azula's outburst, froze right on the spot.

Slowly, she turned to face Zuko's sister and girlfriend. "…Yes?" She asked uncertainly.

Azula let her feet drop from the chair that they had been propped up on. It was time to see if her gamble would pay off…And if Mai was really serious about helping her.

"Why are you eating the food from the cafeteria?" Azula asked like she had picked out poison.

Katara raised an eyebrow. "Um, because I didn't bring any food?" She offered.

Azula laughed and looked Katara up and down. She knew that Katara had noticed her…"fatness"; she knew that everyone else had, too. Azula was sick of not being one of – if not the – skinniest girl in school; she wanted someone else to share in her pain. And Katara was just too goody-two-shoe to pass up. Plus, she knew Zuzu.

"Oh, nothing…" Azula trailed off, but something in her voice sounded like she was about to say something really mean.

"It's just that, well lets just say that it wouldn't hurt you to skip this meal. You know what I'm saying?" Azula smirked, trying to sound nice.

"No, I don't." Katara blinked, and Mai snorted.

Azula laughed. "You're so cute, Katara. Let's see, how do I say this?" She stroked her chin, as if trying to think of a nice way to say it.

"Well, you've just put on a few extra pounds in the past few weeks." Azula shrugged.

Katara's eyes widened and her cheeks got all flushed, as if she couldn't believe that they were talking about her weight. "No I haven't." She insisted.

This time, Mai spoke up, not caring to put on the overly sweet sugar-coated act that Azula had on. She just…Tried to sound like she didn't want to kill her. "Listen, Katara, Azula's right. It's not good for you to gain _too_ much weight." She was surprised at how good she was at acting.

Katara's cheeks were still flushed as her eyebrows knit together. It was obvious that she was trying to blow off what the two girls were saying. "I haven't gained any weight."

"Oh, Katara, you can't think that we're saying this to be mean!" Azula cried as if that wasn't what they were doing. "We're saying this because we're worried about you. Fat isn't very becoming of you."

Katara's hands gripped her tray firmly, her knuckles white. She was insulted, skeptical, and amazed that Azula and Mai would even want to talk to her, let alone tell her that they were worried about her. "Why would you be worried about me?" She voiced her thoughts.

Mai and Azula exchanged a look, one that said that they were shocked that she'd even question them about their concern. "Katara, you're one of Zuzu's friends. I'm just looking out for him, in the end."

"And _why_ would you telling me that I'm fat help Zuko?!" Katara practically shouted, causing several people to stare and snicker, as well as look her up and down as to try and figure out for themselves in she really was fat.

Azula opened her mouth, a sly smirk on her face; she obviously had a very good answer, even if it wasn't true.

Unfortunately, Azula never got a chance to explain why Zuko would benefit from Katara loosing a couple of pounds because Sokka came up, looking flabbergasted.

"Katara!" He grabbed her elbow. "Why are you talking to…_Those_?!" He pointed to Azula but meant both of them. Neither took his insult very seriously. They had both been called way worse than that in their life time.

"I was wondering the same thing, Sokka." Katara sounded mad. "Goodbye." Only manners that had been drilled into her skull for years allowed her to offer the farewell, no matter how begrudging it sounded.

"Bye-bye, Katara!" Azula waved as if they were the best of friends before turning back to her friend.

"I thought that went well." She was very proud of herself, as usual.

Mai nodded. "Me, too. I think that we can persuade some of the people who heard her outburst to start calling her "fat", too.

Azula laughed. "I haven't had this much fun in months!" Neither needed to say why. She closed her eyes and propped her feet back on her chair, relaxing.

Mai rolled her eyes. Azula's pride made it oh-so easy to get her to do something that she thought would hurt Zuko in the long run. Little did his sister know that she was really helping him see the trash that Katara really was, that hussy.

Zuko was going to be so happy.

* * *

While the two devious girls had been putting bad thoughts into Katara's head, Ty lee had been off trying to make some use of her connections for her friend's sake. And she had to admit that she had a burning desire of her own to know who the baby's father was. And finding out was harder than she had first thought. But at last, she had run into some luck.

Someone along the way had directed her to one boy, who was supposedly the last one seen making out with the prissy princess.

And it happened to be that he even had the same lunch period as her! So during lunch, Ty lee had left her friends and was searching the crowd for the guy called "Jet".

Funny, she might've put a stop to her friend's devious plans if she had just stayed with them.

This Jet turned out to be really something with the ladies. When Ty lee found him, he was surrounded by a bunch of his lady-friends, all laughing obnoxiously at his jokes.

Ty lee blinked, and then chuckled to herself. Figured that she'd end up with someone like that.

Jet, being ever so keen, noticed that there was a short, pink-clad cheerleader shoving her way towards him. He didn't bother to get out of his seat, but once she had made her way to him, he eyed her up and down. She seemed sort of familiar. Sort of.

"Hey, you! J…J-jack? James? Uh…" Ty lee scratched her head, trying to remember his name.

"Jet." He clarified, crossing him arms. "What do you want?"

Ty lee didn't really knowhow to say it, so she figured that she'd just…Let Azula say it!

"Uh…My friend, Azula, wants to talk to you…" She said awkwardly.

Jet, not remembering who Azula was, raised and eyebrow. "Is she cute?" He asked plainly.

"How should I know?! I'm a girl!" Ty lee waved her arms in the air. This whole "search for Azula's Baby's father" thing had really exhausted her.

Jet shrugged. "Whatever. Where is she?"

* * *

Katara, though completely insulted, had pondered the girl's words. It was true, she had been really busy at work recently, and she always ate when she was stressed. All but one of her volunteer jobs were stressful. She would be going to that one job tonight: a greenhouse near the edge of the city. One of her mother's old friends owned it, and always welcomed Katara's help.

Staring at herself in the mirror in her bathroom, Katara examined herself. She didn't really have big boobs, or overly wide hips. She couldn't really understand why they had wanted to point something out that wasn't there.

But, then again, now that she thought about it, there was a little flab on her arm. Maybe that was what they had meant. But that wasn't a big deal, she'd just do a few more push-ups in gym.

Katara continued to stare at herself in her mirror.

There, problem solved.

…Right?

* * *

**Aha! So late! And short!**

**Sorry, but I've just been a little down recently, with the lack of comments and all… (hint, hint)**

**Anyways, that taang scene was being a butt to write, and I'm trying to put real struggles in there for our beloved characters. Tell me what you think.**

* * *


	12. Chapter 12: Azula’s manipulation thing

**Chapter 12**

Mai had, however grudgingly, accepted that for the time being her arch-nemesis was one of her co-workers. It had, if nothing else, made her work load a little lighter, at least. But that didn't make up for the other things. For one, she was as close to the word _perfect_, as a person can get. At least, she was when it came to working. Iroh was always complementing her; praising her work and her manners. He obviously liked Katara way better than he liked her.

With two people working the tables, people were getting in and out faster; they didn't have to wait for the single waiter or waitress to get to them. Faster service meant more space sooner, which meant more costumers. And that was always a good thing.

Fortunately for Mai and her sore feet, it was a Tuesday afternoon, which was always the slowest time out of the entire week.

"Katara, my dear, why don't you come and try your hand at cooking?" Iroh stated another horrible idea like it was the best one that he had ever had.

Katara, who had been cleaning a table towards the back, stopped and turned, looking like a deer caught in front of head-lights. "Um, Thank you, Mr. Iroh, but I don't know how to cook anything on the menu."

Iroh chuckled, and patted Katara on the head. "Well, I'm sure Zuko can teach you. He was very bad at making tea and first, but he eventually got the hang of it!" The old man said as if he was remembering something that happened a very long time ago.

Mai's eyebrow twitched.

Zuko, though, was out back tacking out the trash, so he was sparred his uncle's embarrassing ranting.

"If it's ok, I'd rather that I didn't." Katara shook her head and turned back to finish wiping the table down.

Mai rolled her eyes. "Let her do what she wants." She suggested, shrugging. "It's not like she needs the _exercise_." She put just barely enough emphasis on the last part as for Katara to get its meaning. Katara snapped up, and spun towards the kitchen.

"Actually, I might give it a go." She smiled that stupid _'I'm so perfect'_ smile that got everyone on their hands and knees. "But, would you mind teaching me?" She didn't need to add the _'instead of Zuko'_ part. Somehow, Mai had the feeling that Katara didn't want Zuko knowing that she had influenced her to do something.

Iroh, only too happy to get to teach someone how to brew tea, hurried Katara into the kitchen. "Of course, I'd be happy to!"

Mai pursed her lips, trying to suppress a smile. Azula's manipulation thing was rubbing off on her, and she really liked it.

-

Katara listened duly as Iroh explained all of the in-and-outs of brewing the best kinds of tea. It proved to be a little harder than it looked, though. But that might have been because she wasn't thinking about tea when the time came to make it. Nope, she was thinking about the hints that she had gotten in the last few days; some subtle, and some not so subtle.

Some of the more obnoxious people who had heard her conversation with Zuko's sister and her friend started calling her _"miss fat"_ and _"fatso"_ and occasionally "_blubber_". But only some people called her that. Only about…14 or 15. Not like she knew any of them; they were entitled to their opinion. She had been raised better than that, and she wouldn't fall for that stupid "peer pressure" thing that Sokka always blamed the stupid stuff that he did on.

No, she would be totally and completely mature.

But it seemed as if she didn't have the same sort of rock-hard determination when it came to Azula and Mai's hinting. They didn't call her names, they just…Spoke. And then there was that thing that they had said about Zuko benefiting from her losing some weight. That was the stupidest thing that she had ever heard; like she cared what Zuko thought. He was just come guy…

"Gah!" She screeched as some boiling water poured over her hand, scorching it. She obviously needed to get her head straight.

"Oh, dear," Iroh went over to the sink and turned on the faucet. "Here, run your hand under this for a minute."

Katara, with the back of her hand as far into her mouth as she could get it, nodded and walked over to the sink. "Thank you." She said once she took her hand out of her mouth to place it under the cool running water.

"Not a problem, my dear." Iroh said and after turning off the stove, headed towards the front of the restaurant to greet some new-comers.

Katara squinted her eyes shut as she let the water run over her hand. Her eyes watered from the stinging feeling on her hand. She really wasn't good with pain, and burns were the worst. She might even have to put soma aloe on it when she got home, if the pain didn't get any better. She wondered if they even had anymore, after all she hadn't gone to the store recently…But why did they still drop hints at her being fat? She had actually lost a pound or two.

Just then, Zuko returned from doing his trash duties. It was sometimes amazing how, since he was the only young male, he'd get stuck with everything that was over five pounds. And I mean _everything_.

She didn't see him at first; all of her attention was focused on other things. But he saw her, and her hand.

"What'd you do to yourself?" He asked, his voice coming out gruffer than he had intended.

Katara jumped. "Ah!" She put her dry, unburned hand to her chest. "Sorry, you scared me."

"Obviously." Zuko agreed. "You left the stove on." He added, without anything else to say. He turned it off and eyed her hand. "You know, it doesn't look that bad; you can probably take it out from under the water now."

"Huh? Oh, right." She complied and turned off the faucet, reaching for a towel. "I burned my hand while learning how to make tea." She mumbled sheepishly, finally answering Zuko's earlier question.

"Ah." Zuko nodded a bit awkwardly.

Katara tried to keep her face directed away from his, trying to blink away her semi-suppressed tears. She had no intention of letting him see them. It really did hurt, though, and now that she thought about it, the words from all of those people at school – including Mai and Azula – hurt. It was obvious that it was just one of those moments where one little thing goes wrong, but you want to cry for everything else. And she was probably going to start her period soon.

Zuko didn't seem to be too fond of looking at her in the state that she was in, either. He kept his eyes on his feet.

"It's…ok," He offered. "You can cry if it hurts."

As if given the cue, Katara cried openly, sliding down the counter until she was sitting on the floor. "I-I'm…Sorry." She managed between hiccups.

Zuko, completely and totally alienated, nodded. "It's ok." He repeated. They stayed like that for a few moments, Katara sobbing on the floor and Zuko leaning awkwardly against the counter. He finally, in an attempt to ease the awkwardness, slid down next to her, so that he was sitting against the counter just as she was.

"I…Don't u-usually… cry a-about p-pain…" Katara had her head buried in her arms, so it came out muffled. She didn't tell him that it wasn't even the pain that she was crying about anymore. It was just so hard to deal with a bunch of people calling her fat. It hurt way worse than telling Aang that she didn't return his feelings.

Zuko stared at her, rubbing his shoulder that she had touched about a week ago. He didn't even notice that he was doing it. "Well…It'll go away." He offered in an attempt to calm her down.

Katara just shook her head, replying in that still muffled voice, "No…I-It wo-on't." She concluded, not talking about the same sort of pain that he was.

Zuko's face got all twisted in a look of mixed confusion and slight worry. "Why not?" He probed. It was just a small burn on her hand. It would be healed by the next day.

Katara lifted up her head and wiped away the tears from her hot cheeks. Her eyes were blood-shot, making her azure eyes stand out. Zuko hadn't really ever noticed how…Beautiful her eyes were?! Where in the world had he gotten _that_ idea?! He looked away from her, his cheeks turning as pink as hers, as if she had heard his thoughts. Of course, she hadn't, but it was still embarrassing.

Katara, curious as to why Zuko looked away as soon as she brought her head up, assumed that it was for the simple fact that she looked way worse than she thought. Maybe her make-up was running, or maybe her nose was running really bad, or maybe…Maybe Azula and Mai really had been right about Zuko benefiting from her losing weight after all. Maybe she looked really fat sitting there, all scrunched up. Maybe Zuko just didn't like fat.

Wait…Since when would it matter, the practical side of her mind thought. The other side – which was the side that was still an insecure teenager – reasoned that it didn't really matter; she was obese and she needed to do something about it. _Fast_.

Just then Mai walked with purpose into the kitchen, and after noticing them, eyed the couple with a jealous glint in her eye. That made both Zuko and Katara notice that their shoulders were touching, they were so close. Startled, Katara shot up and finished wiping away her tears. Zuko was a bit slower, being less startled, but was up right after Katara anyway. They had been touching at the same shoulder that she had placed the wash-cloth on a week ago.

He felt really stupid that he even still remembered that she did that. Really stupid.

Mai, in tight control of herself, placed three cups filled with tea on a tray and shoved it towards Katara. "Take this to table 15." She commanded, obviously trying to get rid of the girl.

Katara, only too happy to get out of there and away from the boy that she thought was disgusted by her "fat", took the tray gratefully and headed out.

Mai, only too happy to have Zuko to herself, was soon disappointed when he picked up a pad and pencil and went to take another table's order, leaving Mai all to her lonesome self.

"Figures," Mai grumbled.

-

Aang had dragged Toph out in public for the first time since they had come up with their…agreement. Toph, being her usual bull-headed self, made it perfectly clear that this, if it worked out, would be taken _super_ slow. That almost made Aang laugh; after all, she had been the one who had kissed him. When he had questioned her about it, she just punched his arm in an annoyed way and insisted that she hadn't been in her right mind that day. That excuse also made Aang want to laugh. But strangely, Toph didn't mind.

"Toph, come on." Aang pulled his 'Trial girlfriend' along one of C.S.'s many sidewalks on their way to…Well, to do something. Aang hadn't really figured anything out besides 'Get Toph out of the house'.

So far, even that wasn't going well.

"Twinkletoes!" Toph struggled to get out of his grasp. "I don't want to go out! This is stupid!" She insisted madly.

Aang hesitated for a second, and then brushed her words of. "No, it's not. It'll be fun." He smiled, even though she couldn't see him. He, despite the harsh words of his 'trial girlfriend' really wanted to try and have fun. Gyatso wasn't getting better at all, and he knew that he needed to let loose and have a good time.

Toph, it seemed, wasn't up for fun at all.

"Twinkles, just 'cause we got this whole…_thing_ going on doesn't mean that you can drag me around! I'm blind! I have rights!" Toph continued to complain.

"Toph, relax. We're just going to get something to eat." Aang relented. Sometimes being friends with Toph – or even more – was way more trouble than it was worth.

"Well…I want to choose!" Toph demanded, not trying to be the least bit helpful.

Aang stopped and turned towards her. "Ok, so where do you want to go? I don't have that much money, you know." He warned. Knowing her, she'd just want to spend his money. He didn't really know why she only liked spending all of his money. She never cared about anyone else's, but she'd spend his in a heartbeat. He figured it had something to do with 'It comes with the best friend territory.' Or something like that. But one thing was for sure: he'd go completely broke if he kept hanging out with Toph so much. And with his allowance, he practically already was.

"Hm…" Toph scratched her head, trying to think of somewhere cheap. To be completely honest, she didn't know of very many places, since her parents only dined at the 'top-of-the-food chain' type restaurants; the type that would eat Aang for breakfast.

"We could go to…Maybe….You know, there's this place…actually, I've got nothin'." Toph admitted, shrugging.

Aang sighed. "Ok, we'll just…Find something."

"You mean, _you'll_ find something; I'm blind." Toph pointed out the obvious, still a little annoyed, but her tone had a hint of teasing in it.

"Right." Aang nodded, determined to fill his empty stomach which had started to growl very loudly.

"_Woah_," Toph commented. "Did a lion just growl at me or was that your stomach?" She laughed. Aang ignored her, but pink crept onto his cheeks.

The duo continued in silence, trying to find a suitable place to eat that was cheep enough. There was a surprising lack of fast-food restaurants in the C.S.; low obesity wasn't worth a growling stomach, Aang thought. Eventually they settled on a hot-dog stand in the park, a place that they had been ending up a lot lately, for some strange reason. But instead of the swings – an awkward place for both of them – they instead opted for an ordinary bench, which had shaded from the late-afternoon sun by a huge tree filled with squirrels.

Aang, horrified at the very thought of eating meat – no matter how hungry he was – just got four whole dill pickles. Toph, usual to her behavior, gobbled up the hot-dog that she had gotten from Aang in three bites. Aang finished his first pickle with the same eagerness, but with less-than-satisfactory results. Pickles aren't very filling, after all.

"Twinkletoes, you should really get something to eat; something real." Toph advised after she was done licking her fingers.

Aang shrugged. "This'll tide me over 'til I can get home."

Toph shrugged, stretched, and rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

Aang went back to munching on his pickles, which filled his ears with a continuous 'crunch'. The two passed through several moments in awkward silence like that. Well, except for Aang's crunching.

Just then, two older-looking ladies passed in front of them, each looking at Aang and Toph for a moment and then smiling. Aang smiled back, but Toph – being blind – did nothing. The ladies continued on, but Aang and Toph caught some of their conversation.

"Oh, look at them, Velma. Isn't young love so cute?" One of them said.

Aang, with his amazing hearing, actually managed to hear what the lady had said over his continuous crunching. He felt Toph stiffing up, too. He noticed then that Toph was sort of leaning against him. Not much, but enough to make them tense and hold their breath.

Toph, apparently not noticing that she had even been leaning on him, jerked up and started laughing in an awkward way. "Well, that was…Awkward."

Aang barely managed to swallow. His throat suddenly felt like a dry desert. "Um…Yeah, totally weird," He agreed.

"…"

Aang set down his pickles. He didn't really feel like eating anymore. His cheeks were burning with embarrassment, and he could see that hers were, as well.

"So…" He trailed off awkwardly.

"I think you should take me home now." Toph rushed; like that thought had just come to her.

"Yeah," Aang agreed gratefully. "I'll take you home now."

Aang threw out his pickles and escorted Toph back to her very large house. The walk was endured in silence. The entire city almost seemed to be embarrassed for the two them, which didn't help one bit. They stopped at the gate once they got to her house. He still couldn't believe that he had actually been in there, let alone having made it _out_. That was just mind-bottling.

"So…Bye, I guess." Aang rubbed his neck awkwardly.

"Uh…Yeah, bye. See you…Tomorrow at school, I guess." Toph sounded just as alienated.

Without another word, they went their separate ways, Toph disappearing into her large house and Aang turning the street corner.

He made his way back home, taking the long route instead of the shorter one; the longer one passed right by Katara's house. He still wasn't sure what he felt about everything, and he knew that he still had a crush on Katara, but he thought that – if they avoided any more gossiping old ladies – that Toph and he might work out, too.

Katara's house had all of its curtains drawn as usual, but the lights were out in the house except for in the main room, were they were very low and flickering. Aang's guess was that Sokka was on a date. Aang chuckled and then continued down towards his house. Gyatso was probably already asleep, even though it was only 7:00, so he tried to be careful. Glancing at Appa, he knew that they were needing to make a few deliveries, but he decided that he'd wait to tell Bumi – who was also Gyatso's current replacement pilot – about it tomorrow.

Momo came up and started rubbing his leg, making himself known. He petted his cat a few times on the back and then fell back on his bed and took several deep breaths, trying to calm his embarrassment. Bumi, being keen enough to notice that Aang was back, poked his head into the room. "Hey, kiddo," He greeted Aang casually. "How'd it go?" He probed.

Aang's eyebrow twitched and he turned on his side, so that he could face Bumi. He took a deep breath. "Awkward."

-

**Ok, I have finally updated!**

**I'm trying really hard not to go OOC with Katara or Mai, but the story needs bad guys and I'm trying to give all of the characters real-life problems. I really enjoy writing this, so please comment and tell me what you think! Until next time!**

**Also, with me now writing **_**AVATAR**_** as well, the posts may be more spaced out, depending on how much motivation that I have. Sorry.**


	13. Chapter 13: Baby

**Chapter 13**

Change always came too soon; it always did. Fall, with its golden leaves and drizzly day turned into winter, with a fierce and unforgiving chill that soaked you to the bone, and refused to let you get any warmer. Suki had gotten a response from a very prestigious college in Rock City which offered Judo classes; Yue and Joe were planning out their trips, and how they'd get the money for it, no matter what.

But no one had a bigger problem than Azula, in her mind. Talking with Jet had totally and completely conformed that he was the father of the abomination inside of her. And that was mainly thanks to the fact that Jet remembered knocking her up. Slightly awkward weeks followed at first, but Azula was never one to let anything – or anyone – make her uncomfortable. She had already decided what to do, but she hadn't told Jet about it. Quite frankly, it didn't have anything to do with him.

"But, Azula," Ty lee said soothingly, "You really should tell him. After all, it really does involve him; shouldn't he have a say?"

The trio was lounging in Azula's father's mansion's parlor where a large fire place was kept. Her father wasn't home at the moment, and the servants wouldn't ever dare say anything to her father. Unless, of course, they had a serious death wish.

Azula snorted and rolled her eyes. "Not if I don't want him to." She concluded firmly.

Mai shrugged. "I agree with you, Azula. He got you pregnant, so hasn't he already done enough?" She said in that same monotone voice of hers.

"I don't know…" Ty lee trailed off, "I still think that he has a right to know." She fidgeted with her long braid.

Sometimes, Azula really hated her pink-loving friend. She was too…good. Not enough…badness. "I don't care what you think, Ty lee. You're not the one who's pregnant."

The cheerleader looked insulted. "But I'm worried about you! You haven't even told your father yet!"

"I won't have to tell anyone _anything_ by tomorrow, now will I." It wasn't said like a question.

Ty lee furrowed her eyebrows and pursed her lips.

"Lay off of her, Ty lee." Mai mediated coolly. "It's not your choice, it's hers. If she wants to do this, why should we try and stop her? It'd be too much work."

"Oh, shut up!" Ty lee screamed. "You two are acting like what she's doing is right! That is a human life in there!" She jabbed a finger in Azula's direction.

Mai rolled her eyes and Azula laughed. "Oh, don't be so stupid Ty lee." Her voice was a mixture of annoyance and slight amusement. "It's not like you have a say in it, either. But if you're so set on it, maybe we can get someone to get _you_ pregnant, and see how you'd react. Maybe _then_ you'd agree with us, hm?"

Ty lee looked as if she was about to cry. "You're so…heartless!" She rushed out of the house, crying like the over-grown baby that she was.

"She should really grow up." Azula sighed after a minute.

Mai nodded silently. Ty lee was her friend, so she felt sort of bad for her, but if she had been in Azula's position, then she would've been doing the same thing, she knew. And even though she'd deny it, Ty lee would probably be scared enough to do just the same.

* * *

Suki's father was an old, busy sort of thing. It seemed that he had nothing better to do for the last year or so than to get into his daughter's things. So, of course when acceptance letters from some of the top three colleges from around the world, her father was the first to know about it.

"Suki! SUKI!"

The teenaged girl turned down the teeny-bopper pop music on her radio and closed her cheesy romance novel that she had been in the middle of.

"Yes, Father?" She called down patiently.

"Come down here! Your future has arrived! Quick, girl, _quick_!" Came back her father's frantic reply.

Suki took her time going downstairs. Knowing her father, this "future" that he was shouting about was just some random pimple-covered newspaper boy. That's what his antics usually led to. Actually, she had no idea why she had so much patience for her father, but even when she did lose her patience, she couldn't stay mad at him for long.

"Yes, what is it Dad?" She inquired once she got down to the bottom of the stairs and in their kitchen.

"Suki, look!" Her father got up from the stool that he had been sitting on and ushered her over to the island counter. There – thankfully – was no pimple covered boy there with him. "_Look_!" He repeated, shoving a pile of papers in her face.

"Ack! Hold on, Dad! I can't see them an inch from my face!" Suki laughed at her father's exasperated look.

Taking the papers, she put them all on the counter and then picked up the first one. Her grey eyes scanned the paper, reading the contents slowly.

"Well? Suki, tell me what you think!"

Suki laughed. "I think this is amazing!" She jumped off of the stool that she had been seated on. "I can't believe it! I got in! Rock University here I come!" She shouted and hugged her father.

Her Dad joined in her celebrating. "But you got into the other ones, too! Now you just have to choose!" He pulled his daughter into a death-squeeze hug. "_I'm so proud of you_!"

"Th…anks…Dad!" Suki choked out, trying not to laugh.

"Oooh, which one are you going to choose?! Rock University, right? That was your first choice, and they have a superior network of professors! Oh, you'll be president in no time!" Her father rambled on, finally letting go of his daughter.

Suki laughed. This was the best thing that had happened to her in a long time. There was only a few months left of school, and then she'd be off to the top college in Rock City: RU. She'd planned it all out: after college she'd get a job with one of the top Dojos in the whole world; most of them were in Rock city, and they were a pretty big deal there. Her future was looking bright, and the best part was that nothing was standing in her way.

…Right?

* * *

Yue was reclining on Joe's bed, which pretty much just served as his dresser. Clothes were piled on it so much that you could barely see the bed underneath. She had cleared a spot and was listening to her boyfriend plan their trip. And she was pretty sure by now that he just liked hearing himself talk. But she didn't mind. At least she wasn't the one having to do all of the planning.

"…And then we can travel back up through here, and go to The Twin cities. We couldn't stay here long, though, 'cause people would find out that we were here and would come back looking for us…" Joe had a very large stack of travel pamphlets, all advertising something different from around the world. Museums in the southern Ice City; Parades in Volcano City. You name in, and he had a pamphlet for it.

"So, what'd you think, Babe?" Joe came and handed her a pamphlet. He sat down on a pile of his own clothes and began nuzzling her neck.

"Of course," he whispered into her ear. "We can do whatever we want in between stops…"

Yue gently shoved her boyfriend away. She was in no mood to deal with his raging hormones. She had to think about it, still.

Contrary to popular belief, they still hadn't "done it", and the fact that a playboy like Joe stuck with her meant that he really must've still liked her. But she wasn't so sure. She had a life, and friends here, and she was about to throw it all away for him? But then again, when she thought about it, she'd never get into college, and she didn't really have a planned future, so what did she have to lose? If she went with him, their future might not have been great, but at least she'd _have_ one.

"What's wrong, Babe?"

Yue snapped out of it, turning her attention back to her boyfriend who was, at the moment, trailing his lips up her arm. To be honest, it really tickled.

"Stop it!" Yue laughed, rubbing her arm. "That tickles!" She said honestly.

Joe was taken aback at first, but then grinned. "Oh, really?"

Yue stopped laughing. "Don't you dare!" She warned.

"Too late!" Joe grabbed her and pulled her close, tickling her all over.

Yue struggled against the tickling powers of her boyfriend. He lay down and made her straddle him, all of the while tickling the life out of her. Finally, after kissing him once or twice, got him to stop.

"Still want to go?" He asked, holding her to him, his hands a little too close to her butt for comfort.

Yue paused. "…Yeah." She nodded, and kissed him one more time.

* * *

Sokka's money had, of course, run out. Drugs were expensive and usually tended to drain wallets like that. His work at the organic veggie store paid minimal wages, especially since he was like, the _worst_ employee ever. Usually, though, it was enough to barely get by. But recently, the kid who had been selling him the weed that he had gotten to like so much had jacked up the prices of the stuff. That was annoying, but what could he do? He cut down on driving his baby, and everything else that wasn't a necessity. But, eventually, he was run dry. It was inevitable.

But perhaps fixable.

Katara had been working at that Chinese restaurant for a while now, and even though that job didn't exactly pay well, she never spent very much of it. She kept almost everything that she didn't spend in an old jewelry box at the top of her closet.

And fortunately, she was at work.

Sokka didn't plan on taking _too_ much. Only enough to afford his drugs. She didn't ever count it, and if he only took a little, she'd never notice.

He sat up from his bed. He had been lying down, thinking about how he could get a hold of the money and go out and find that kid who always sold weed to him all before his sister got back. He swung his feet to the floor and made his way out of his room and towards his sister's.

Sokka paused at her door. What was he doing?! Stealing from his baby sister?!

…But then again, he hadn't had anything to get him high in a long time. He felt…starved without it, and he had a gnawing hunger for it.

Besides, Katara would forgive him.

His hand itched to slam open the door, charge into her small closet, and tear it apart until he got the means to get the stuff that he wanted. But his father was home for once, so he'd have to be extra careful not to disturb the floor boards too much. Also, Katara would know that someone had been in her room if he messed around too much. Stealth, however, was never his strong point. Almost as soon as he stepped foot into the room, he tripped on one of Katara's large stacks of books. Why did the only thing his sister let stay on the ground have to be big, hard books?

He, ever-so-gracefully, landed on the floor with a loud _'thud'_.

"Sokka? Are you ok up there?" The muffled voice of his father called up.

"Yeah! I'm fine, I just…Tripped over my clothes!" Sokka called down, cursing himself for not coming up with a better excuse. They'd probably use it against him later, when tying to get him to clean his room.

Moving to get back up, he made sure to look down before he took another step. Her room was darker than usual, so he waited for a moment to let his eyes adjust. But he was soon back of his stumbling way, clumsily avoiding everything on Katara's floor. It was actually sort of strange. Katara never let anything stay on her floor, but yet there were clothes littered everywhere and she had made no effort to put up her shoes. Seriously, was he even in the right room?

He finally got to her closet, and jerked it open. His father wouldn't care about doors opening and closing, so he was less careful. Shuffling through all of his sister's stored things, his hand ran along the side of a small, wooden box. That had to be it. He grabbed the thing and backed out of the closet, so as to get some light.

Yup, that was it. It even had her name etched into the top. Opening it, he raised an eyebrow at all of the princess stickers that coated the inside. Obviously, Katara had had this box for a very long time.

And there it was. All the money that he'd need. But he'd only take what he needed.

He shoved the cash into his pocket, went back over to the closet, and stuffed the box back in the back, where he had found it.

Mission accomplished.

* * *

Ty lee normally would _never_ have _ever_ thought about ever betraying her friends like this normally. But Azula was being so pig-headed about the whole thing, and Mai wasn't really helping. In fact, she had taken Azula's side.

Besides, it wasn't exactly a normal time for Azula, Ty lee kept reminding herself as she waited on the door-step to a strange house. It was an old rental, in obvious need of repair, with chipping baby blue paint and fading shudders. Weeds grew in the two inches of front yard that the house had. Ty lee, so used to her pampered life, felt very out of place standing there. Besides, she shouldn't have even needed to have been standing there, if Azula had wanted to do the right thing.

But, then again, we're talking about Azula here.

She raised a shacking hand to the door and knocked twice. She was too nervous to ring the doorbell. She waited there for a good minute before anyone came and opened the door.

"Yes?" A tired woman who looked to be in her forties demanded from behind a screen door that she hadn't bothered to open. She was short, and not too skinny, with leathery wrinkles and tattooed eyeliner. Her low-cut shirt and tight jeans made her a very scary-looking person. Maybe she had gotten the wrong house? After all, she had gone through a whole line of people to get Jet's address, so maybe it had gotten mixed up somewhere along the line.

"Umm, hi," Ty lee fidgeted with her skirt. "Is Jet here? I'm a friend, and I'd really like to-"

"Jet! You've got another one of your girlfriends here!" The frustrated lady called up some stairs that were behind her, and interrupted Ty lee in the process.

Ty lee waited patiently as Jet made his way down the stairs, pulling a shirt on. His face was twisted in surprise when he saw the pink-clad girl. She was the one who had first approached him about…It. She had been the one to direct him to Azula, hadn't she?

'_What on earth is she doing here, of all places?'_ He wondered to himself.

"I told you not to bring any more of your 'lady friends' here, Jet, so this had _better_ be the last time I see a mini shirt in a long time, got it?!" Ty lee watched awkwardly as the lady grabbed Jet's arm and shook him slightly, trying to make a point. She wasn't sure if she should've felt insulted or not. Her shirt wasn't _that_ short.

"Yeah, yeah," Jet shrugged and he was released from the lady's grasp. "I can't help it."

Ty lee took a step back as jet opened the screen door and stepped onto the front porch with her. The lady's attention had shifted to a group of kids running around her kitchen.

"Sorry, that's my foster mom," Jet said, leaning against one of the wooden beams. "So, how can I help you?" He asked with a smirk, although he doubted that the news was pleasant.

"Umm…I'm not really sure how to say this…" She started, fidgeting with her braid instead of her skirt. She guessed that the best way to tell him about his future child being about to die was to start from the beginning.

Jet waited for her to start, a tooth-pick in his mouth.

"…Well, you see, we were talking, and Azula was all _'you can't decide for me, I don't care what _you_ think'_, and I was all _'but Azula, it's your baby!'_ and Mai was all _'leave her alone, Ty lee'_ and then Azula was all _'my dad won't even _have_ to know before tomorrow'_ and I was all _'you're so heartless!'_ and then I stormed out! So I thought I come over and tell you about it, since Azula refused to do so, you know? 'Cause I think that you, like, have a right to know, you know?"

Jet just stared. "What?" Was this girl on drugs, or something?

Ty lee sighed and let go of her braid. This really wasn't going to be easy.

"I guess that I should just tell you straight out…"

Jet nodded, certain that it wasn't good news that the pink girl had for him. "That'd be nice," He agreed.

Ty lee nodded with him. Why did she have to be the only one with a heart, it seemed? Why didn't Azula want to let him know about her decision? Why did she even come to do this in the first place?

"It's about you and Azula's baby…"

* * *

**Hey guys, sorry for the long wait! XD Theres sort of been a family crisis going on, so I've been preoccupied!**

**I noticed, as I was going back through the chapters that I've already written, that I have been pretty much ignoring several main characters in this: Suki, Yue, and Sokka. This is mainly because I find it very hard to write about these characters...So There is no zutara, taang, kataang, or anyting in this chapter because, well...I needed to stop ignoring these characters!**

**Oh, and I've also taken the "Info" chapter off, 'cause I realized that I was totally unessisary for this fanfic!**


	14. Chapter 14: Barrier, Tug

Hey guys, I'm back for ONE update, as I promised to a great reader of mine! I just couldn't stay away from the shipping drama!!! Also, sorry it's short...

Disclaimer: Obviously, no one who uses fan fiction owns anything...so neither do I

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* * *

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Chapter 14

* * *

Zuko was never one to really observe people, because quite frankly, he didn't care. People did whatever they wanted to, in his experience, so why should he check every time they picked their nose? It was a waste of time being observant, and his opinion had not changed.

But Katara was blatantly obvious, even to him.

Of course, it had taken a while for him to notice. Her hair was a bit more unkempt, her clothes wrinkled. He hadn't noticed anything then. She stopped wearing much besides a sweatshirt and jeans, as if she couldn't have cared less, and had just rolled out of bed like that. He didn't notice then, either. She had gotten paler and greyer, and constantly had purple bags under her eyes. He didn't even notice then.

No, when Zuko noticed was when she passed out while fitting an actor's costume to them.

She was out cold, and by the time Zuko came over, everyone was crowded around her. Her head was resting in bumblebee's lap.

"Is she ok?" and "What happened?" were the words that people were whispering.

Something in Zuko's chest got tighter as he saw her pale, rigid form. Bending down, he checked her pulse, his own quickening at the contact between them.

"What is it? What happened?!" Mr. Boring called out, clapping his hands to get everyone's attention. "We need to continue our work! We have a deadline and-" He stopped when he saw her on the floor.

"My goodness, it's miss blue! Whatever happened, she must wake up!"

Zuko stood up, a frown on his face. "Boring," he started.

"Mister!"

"Mr. Boring, She just passed out. Can't you give her a minute, or call the hospital or something?" His voice was irritated, his arms crossed.

Her head stirred as she started to come to. "N...No...It's ok...I'm fine," She said softly, a shaking hand to her head. She sat up, to Bumblebee's protest, which she resisted. "No, it's ok...I'm fine."

"Good! There now, see? Hurry up and finish your work miss blue, we have a show to run!" Mr. Boring clapped his hands again and walked off back to wherever he had been.

She nodded and started to weakly rise.

"Katara-" Zuko moved quickly, hovering over her, unsure whether or not to help.

Katara's eyebrows furrowed, and she got even whiter as she stood. She looked very ill. "I said I'm fine," Her voice was harsh but quiet.

He furrowed his eyebrows together, wanting to argue. But he never had the chance, as she collapsed again as soon as she took two steps. He caught her by the arms before she had completely hit the floor. She gasped as he caught her, as if toughing her arms had caused her some great pain. Alarmed, he gently get her down on the ground.

"...Are you ok?" He demanded softly after she didn't say anything. She remained silent, but turned her head away.

Without a word, he gingerly lifted her up by her arm, careful not to hurt her, and started leading her towards the exit.

"Zuko!" Mr. Boring ran up to the duo waving his arms in a frenzy. "Just _where_ are you taking miss Blue?! I need her here to finish the costumes! She can't leave!"

Zuko gave him the most murderous look that anyone had ever given Mr. Boring.

"she's leaving with me," He growled through clenched teeth, and tightened his grip on Katara.

The older man didn't like that, and liked the looks that he was getting even less. "No, you're not. She said that she was fine, lad, so she must be!"

"What?! You can just look at her and see that she needs to go home!" This time it was Bumblebee who spoke up, and she did so with a furiously loud voice.

"Yea, Mr. Boring," A couple of others joined in. "Let her go home."

The man in question, having no other choice, let Zuko drag her out of the theater.

"I don't want to see you again in my theater!" He called ferociously after them.

Zuko almost smiled.

He was actually a little surprised that he still remembered the way to the girl's house. Maybe it hadn't of been as long as he had thought. It didn't matter, he concluded as he brought her up the steps to her front door. "Do you have keys?" He questioned.

Nodding slightly, Katara produced a set of keys out of her pocket, and dropped them into his hand. Well, she actually just dropped them, but he put his hand there so they didn't hit the floor. Turning the key, he helped her into her house and onto her couch.

In all truthfulness, he was hesitant to bring her to a hospital. He...Wanted to keep an eye on her, and he knew that he couldn't at a hospital. He probably wouldn't even see her after he brought her. So he had opted to simply bring the girl home.

She collapsed in a heap on the couch, curling up in a ball and turning away from him, burying her face into the couches back. He sat down on the coffee table and stared at her.

She seemed to be sleeping, or on the verge of it. He didn't mind, he supposed.

"can I...have some soup?" He barely heard her quivering voice, it was so muffled by the couches cushions.

Mutely, he nodded and got up. The kitchen was clean, like the rest of the house, but smelled of sweet onions and carrots. It smelled warm, and happy.

He searched until he found a can of broth. It was one of the few food items that were actually in the kitchen. Apparently no one had gone grocery shopping recently. He emptied the can into a bowl and put it into the microwave for the required time. He set it on the counter in front of a stool when he was done, and set a spoon beside it. returning to the couch, Zuko reached over the back and lightly touched Katara's cold shoulder. He could tell that it was cold, even through the sweatshirt that she wore. That made his eyebrows furrow.

"Katara," He choked out her name, hoping that he didn't sound too strange.

"mmm," She rubbed her eyes and then struggled to sit up. It seemed as if even that was too much for her. He had to resist the urge to carry her around like a porcelain doll.

He made sure to stay an acceptable distance away as she shuffled towards the stool and sat down, leaning heavily on the counter. Picking up the spoon, she stirred the broth around a little bit, but made no move to actually eat it.

"Eat," He said a little more gruffly than he had intended.

She said nothing for a moment, but finally looked up at him, her eyes so completely surrounded by dark purple circles that Zuko almost wondered if she had gotten beat up.

"It's hot," She mumbled, and then looked back down.

He rolled his eyes. "Then blow on it," His concern was turning into frustration.

Weakly, she blew on the broth. Actually, he wondered if she was even breathing, it was so light. She just didn't seem to have any energy at all. How had he missed that?

"Here," he offered, and gently pried the spoon from her thing fingers, which were actually holding the utensil in a death grip. Good thing it couldn't breathe.

"What are you-?" She trailed off as he blew on it for her, and then held it to her mouth as if he intended to feed her like she was an infant.

"Go on, eat." He commanded.

Sighing, she opened her mouth, and, placing her hand over his, guided the spoon into her mouth. She could at least try to save _some_ of her dignity, anyway. She didn't notice the way his entire body froze up at her touch.

They passed through a hour or so, sometimes she ate, and sometimes she didn't. Sometimes she just...Stayed there, her hand still over his, unmoving.

He felt almost like their touching fingers were not entirely touching each other, but also a barrier. He wasn't sure if it was safe to break it, or if she even wanted to. He would do nothing unless she confirmed it. He would not move, would barely even breath.

Silence hadn't felt so strange in so long, and hadn't ever felt so meaningful. It was thick like dough, but not exactly suffocating. It was just... Substantial.

"Zuko," She had finally decided to dissolve it with her quiet words.

"Hm," He mumbled, his voice sounding scratchy from lack of use.

She glared at their hands that cupped the eating utensil, his more tightly than hers. She seemed to be trying to stomach her food.

"I...Don't want you worrying about me too much," She sighed, a bit of frustration seeping into her voice.

He stared at Katara, and she stared back. He was sure if it was nice or not, but her eyes were glowing with her normal spirit, instead of what they had been earlier. He was happy that they were glowing.

Finally, he responded, his amber eyes still transfixed with her cerulean ones.

"You can't stop me,"

And that statement seemed to set new rules. Amazement and shock should've followed the it, but neither one of them look surprised at his words. Like someone had just told of the weather. But he hadn't been talking about the weather. He had admitted that he cared, and that he was going to keep on caring. And it put a big chip in their barrier.

She drew her hand away from his, and she tried to patch the barrier back up.

His hand still gripped the spoon.

-

Aang hadn't been over to Katara's house in what seemed like ages. Maybe it had been, but he sure as heck wasn't too eager to go there right then. But he had to. He just....His mind wouldn't get off of Katara, and her beautiful laugh, her dazzling smile, and her spectacular face. God, she was so beautiful, he just couldn't stay away. So there he stood, at her door. A part of him felt a tug in his heart, remembering Toph, but the other half felt a tug towards the door. He knew that in some way he was betraying his promise to Toph to try and make them work. He was just running back to his old ways.

He rang the door bell.

It seemed to take ages for someone to answer the door, and he was so shocked that he almost knocked himself over when someone did.

There stood Zuko, a scowl on his face and not looking too pleased to see him.

"Uh...Zuko?!" Aang tried to wrap his mind around the fact that Zuko was answering Katara's door. Why in the world was he answering her door?!

"What do you want?"

"Um, is Katara there?"

"Yes,"

"Well, ok...Are you going to let me in?"

"No,"

"What? Why not?" Aang crossed his arms and glared at the taller man.

"Zuko, don't be so rude." Aang finally heard her sweet, angelic voice as she came up behind scarface. She gently pushed him out of the way so that she could stand before Aang. She looked very sick.

"Oh, Aang, I'm glad to see you." She smiled, although it looked tired. Something was wrong, off.

"Katara?"

"Yes?" She gestured for him to enter. "Come on in, Aang."

He obediently followed her inside and sat down on the couch when she told him to. She sat down next to him, and he noticed that Zuko remained standing a fair distance away, but close enough to look protective. Aang furrowed his eyebrows.

"Are you ok?" He asked worriedly. He smelled soup.

"Of course I am, silly. Why do you sound so worried?"

She smiled at him, a smile that was meant to reassure, to comfort. He didn't believe it for one second.

They talked for a moment, just long enough for him to ask several more times about her health, and for her to reassure him each time. Eventually, she excused herself and got up, heading for the restroom. Aang took the opportunity to glare holes into Zuko's head. He wanted to, anyways.

Zuko glared back.

"Why are you here?" Aang demanded, mad that the tall boy had been here alone with Katara. She couldn't have possibly invited him over. She didn't like him.

"Why are you?" He turned the question back around on him, his not bothering to veil his contempt.

"Because she's my best friend." He answered proudly, but then felt another pang of guilt and sadness. Katara, despite her perfection, was not his best friend. Toph was the best friend that he had ever had.

Zuko didn't answer to that, he just scowled even harder. But Aang wanted an answer.

"Why were you here alone with her?" He prodded.

"None of your business," Came the cold reply.

"Because I swear, if you were taking advantage of her,-" Aang trailed off and stood up, fist clenched. Zuko crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes.

"I wasn't,"

For some reason that Aang couldn't comprehend, he believed him. And that made him angry, angrier than he had been in a long time. How could she let this guy hang out with her? What made Zuko so much better than him?!

He couldn't take it. He hated Zuko more than anything at that moment, and was glad that he had a scar. In the back of his mind, he knew that Zuko'd surpass him by far in the looks department if he didn't have it. But he wanted to make him ugly, to make him look the way that he looked on the inside.

So Aang punched him.

Zuko staggered to the ground, probably more from shock than Aang's actual physical abilities. He made a loud thud.

"What's going on out here?!" Katara demanded as she exited the restroom. She looked shocked to see Zuko roughly climbing to his feet, hand clenching his jaw. Aang looked furious, and his hands were balled into fists. It was obvious what had just happened.

Zuko, not taking too kindly to being socked in the face, stood up to his full height and yanked Aang up by the collar. It almost reminded Aang of third grade. But he hadn't seen Zuko look that mad before, not even back then.

"Do you not believe me?" He growled low, his voice a chilling tone.

"Zuko?! Put Aang down!" Katara shouted.

He ignored her, probably not even hearing her in the first place. He pulled back his fist and clenched it, preparing to throw a punch. But two slender, tan hands firmly grasping his forearm stopped him.

"Zuko!" She looked furious, and Aang could immediately see Zuko's anger deflate. Until, that is, he looked back at Aang.

"Let him go." She commanded, her tone allowing to opposition.

Slowly, he complied to her wishes.

He wasn't sure to whether to feel grateful that Katara saved him from getting a beating, or if his pride should've been hurt. Probably both, but his neck hurt too much to care either way.

"I want you both out, now." She looked really mad, but let her hands rest on Zuko's forearm a second longer than necessary, he noticed. He had to restrain himself.

"But Katara-"

"No. Out." She withdrew from the punk and pointed towards the door, her voice firm.

Zuko shoved his hands into his pockets, threw one last glare at Aang, and jerked open the door, leaving him with her. Finally, he was gone. But he only had her for a second, for she had soon pushed him out of the door as well, despite his protests.

"But, Katara-" He repeated, but she had already slammed the door in his face.

And he no longer felt that tug.

* * *

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